W.T. Benda Exhibit

Wladyslaw Theodor (W.T.) Benda, was a polish-born artist who spent his summers in Redding and was known worldwide for his illustrations and even more so for his sculpted elaborate paper masks. Benda’s artwork was frequently featured on the covers of popular magazines of his time, such as The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies’ Home Journal, McCalls and Life Magazine. His work appeared roughly a decade before famed illustrator Norman Rockwell and was just as well-known. The masks he created were worn in theater and dance productions as well as by celebrities of the time. For instance, Benda made a mask for the actress Katherine Hepburn to wear in publicity shots for one of her movies. One of his masks also inspired the look of the evil queen in the Disney movie Snow White. In addition to spending summers in Redding, Benda created a strong connection to this town by purchasing homes here for his two sisters. His daughter Eleonora Shimler, who was an artist in her own right, worked as the art teacher at Redding Elementary School for more than 30 years. Shimler’s daughter, and Benda’s granddaughter, Ann Taylor also made her home in Redding and has lived here and served as the Director of New Pond Farm for 37 years. She and her son Thatcher, who is the “keeper” of all the masks, generously loaned the items here on display for this exhibit before Ann steps down from her longtime role at NPF to move north to Vermont and New Hampshire. The W.T. Benda Exhibit will be on display in the MTL rotonda through November.