Rainey Bennett (June 14, 1907 – July 26, 1998) was an American artist, illustrator and muralist. His works have been displayed in major museum art collections.

Work

The art collections of

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of t ...

in New York include some of Rainey's artwork. The

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was desig ...

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morg ...

contains a watercolor, ''Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela, 1952'', as part of its permanent collection. The

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

has three of Bennett's pieces in its collection.

Illustrator

In addition to his painting, Bennett also worked as a freelance book illustrator and had a longtime working relationship with

Scott Foresman Scott Foresman was an elementary educational publisher for PreK through Grade 6 in all subject areas. Its titles are now owned by Savvas Learning Company which formed from former Pearson Education K12 division. The old Glenview headquarters o ...

publishers. Every holiday season, he illustrated the daily Christmas newspaper ads for

Marshall Field Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...

's. In 1960, Bennett wrote as well as illustrated his own children's book, ''The Secret Hiding Place'', about a baby hippopotamus in search of a secret hiding place.

Murals

Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

through the

Section of Painting and Sculpture The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...

, later called the

Section of Fine Arts The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...

, of the Treasury Department. In 1938 Bennett painted oil on canvas murals for the post offices in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 109,976. Dearborn is the seventh most-populated city in Michigan and is home to the largest Muslim population in the United States per ...

titled ''Ten Eyck’s Tavern on Chicago Road'' and

Rushville, Illinois Rushville is a city in Schuyler County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,192 at the 2010 census and 2,902 in 2018. It is the county seat of Schuyler County. It was first settled by Euro-Americans in 1823. History Geography Accord ...

titled ''Hart Fellows - Builder of Rushville''. In 1941, he painted an oil on canvas mural for the

Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is in the Chicago metro area, west of the city. Naperville was founded in 1831 by Joseph Naper. The city was ...

post office titled, ''George Martin's Home Overlooking Old Naper Hill''. He painted a 13 panel mural for the

Neil House Hotel The Neil House was a historic hotel on High Street in Downtown Columbus, Ohio. The hotel operated on Capitol Square from 1842 to 1980. Attributes The hotel buildings were located on South High Street across from the Ohio Statehouse. First ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. The building was destroyed to make way for the Huntington Center and the whereabouts of the panels are unknown.

Paintings

The Oak Room at Robert Allerton Park contains four floral paintings by Rainey Bennett, who was a friend of the Allerton family. He painted oil painting for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad Exec Offices
new Deal/WPA bios

Watercolors

In 1939, Bennett produced a series of 36 watercolors of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

on commission of the Stanford Oil Company and

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...

, who purchased 24 of the paintings after a two-year traveling tour as an exhibit of the Museum of Modern Art. In 1940, the watercolors were shown at the prestigious Downtown Gallery in New York. They are currently part of the collection of the St. Louis Art Museum. Another commission from Rockefeller for paintings of other South American countries followed in 1949.

Death

Bennett died on December 11, 1998, in his

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

home at the age of 91. His wife, Ann, was a professional dancer and had died in 1975. He was survived by his companion, two daughters, and a son.

Exhibits

*Downtown Gallery, New York *Art Institute of Chicago
Art in Illinois, In Honor of the Illinois Sesquicentennial, June/September, 1968
''Quiet Blue'' *University of Illinois, Exhibit of Contemporary American Painting, Feb-April, 1949

''Pamela and Renee'' *Cleveland Museum; *Toledo Museum; *Whitney Museum; *Fairweather Hardin Gallery, Chicago.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Rainey 1907 births 1998 deaths 20th-century American painters American children's book illustrators American illustrators American male painters American muralists American watercolorists Art Students League of New York alumni Federal Art Project artists Modern painters People from Marion, Indiana Painters from Illinois School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Section of Painting and Sculpture artists University of Chicago alumni 20th-century American male artists