"One of the most rewarding things in life," writes critic John Russell on artist’s sketchbooks, "is to look over the shoulder of a great artist and see exactly what is going on." Ben had a number of sketchbooks, which true to his own style, some of which he made himself. He also drew quick sketches on just about every surface available. He delighted in using pen, pencil or brush to record a quick observation or to study a composition that he might eventually use for a more accomplished painting. These drawings give us a revealing view of Ben at work, capturing the essence of the world around him.


"Always he comes back to drawing, for that is the base on which his pictures are built. He draws constantly the things about him: his wife, friends, the trees, hills and fields. His media are the time-tested ones, graphite pencil, pastel, crayon, carbon point, brush and ink, gouache, and transparent wash. He does both the quick and spontaneous sketch and the patient finished drawing. Some of his finest papers have been quickly done, eliminating many things that might have been recorded, saying much and suggesting much in a few lines or masses."
Henry Pitz
American Artist, May 1963

DRAWN TO LIFE featured a wide range of drawings, from charcoals to pastels, from pencil to pen and ink by Ben that explored his astonishing mastery of various media and subject matter. From his never-before exhibited sketchbooks to his popular masterpieces, DRAWN TO LIFE gave visitors the opportunity to enjoy the many talents of Ben Solowey, a modern day Renaissance Man.

As much as we like to do shows of specific aspects of Ben's work, such as our Flights of Fancy exhibition, to truly appreciate his work you must see the remarkable variety of landscapes, still lifes, portraits and figure works that sprang from his very talented hands of Ben Solowey.

Below are excerpts from the exhibition panels:

New York Sketchbooks

No matter where Ben was he found ready subject matter to draw. Throughout the Second Studio one had an opportunity to see a selection of Ben’s spontaneous drawings and sketches, as well as more conscious studies for later paintings. All were drawn with Ben’s decisive hand.

Ben often made his own sketchbooks from loose sheets of paper that he bound together in a metal holder. When he finished the pages in one book, he put the drawings in a folder and filled the book again with fresh paper. Almost anything Rae did in the studio was fodder for Ben’s pencil or pen, and sometimes these drawings capture moments which would later be immortalized in Solowey masterpieces.


Ben drew for himself. Struck with an idea, he might commit it to paper then stuck in a nearby book for safekeeping. One of the pleasant surprises of the studio is to open a book and happen upon a sketch. One abstract sketch in the exhibition was found in this small book on Cezanne.


Rae would often remark that Ben was the type who "could not not draw. Drawing was as to breathing for Ben." Ben’s capacity to draw whatever and wherever struck his fancy is a hallmark of his life. When he received his first ice cream cone, while his family eagerly devoured theirs, Ben held his out and sketched the treat before eating it. On this farm there are drawings everywhere, including a sketch of the cat inside the garage.


While Ben was hardly misanthropic, he did claim that he would not mind being snowed in for six months, so that he could work undisturbed. When the snows became too high in his later years for him to make it from the house to the studio, Ben fashioned a drawing table in the kitchen so he could draw the unfolding landscape right outside his windows.

The light determined much of what Ben did in a day. Some mornings he would decided that the light was right for a trip to the Poconos to paint. Other times a scene he saw along the road might capture his fancy and he would stop to record it. Ben almost always carried a sketchbook or palette box for such occasions.

Leisure #2
A Solowey sketch might capture a spontaneous moment, or act as a first step to a finished oil. In this case, Ben began with a several drawings of Rae either reading or writing before he came upon the composition that become Leisure #2, considered by many to be among Ben’s classic works. Both the pencil study and the oil were in unique frames that Ben carved and gilded himself.

Study for Leda and the Swan Folding Screen
The female figure in this work came from a Solowey watercolor of Rae, which he revised to incorporate elements of this legend. While he did create other folding screens, he never made a full size model on this theme. Another study of the same theme was also included in the exhibtion.


Two Ages of Rae
These two paintings of Rae captured Ben’s favorite model and muse at different ends of their relationship. Rae in the Blue Dress was probably painted in the first year of Ben and Rae’s marriage. This is the beauty that Ben saw when he first met Rae in 1930 and led him to propose on their first date.

The oval portrait of Rae, titled simply Artist’s Wife, was painted some 35 years later. The frame was given to Ben by two local ladies who had no use for it. When they asked Ben what he might paint in it, he replied it might be appropriate for a still life. Rae would later say, "It was a very still life." It is considered the definitive portrait of Rae in her later years and one of the great examples of Solowey portraiture.



In 1924, Ben set sail for Europe to immerse himself in the world of the painters he admired. He spent most of his six months there in Paris, although he did make at least one trip to Lucerne as well. He primarily painted intimate oils to record his impressions, spontaneously where inspiration hit. Perhaps that is why they still retain their immediacy today.

Ben not only made small oil sketches, of landscapes that captured his imagination but as recently discovered sketchbook show, compositions that he would use in his still lifes as well. He also made notes and sketches on decorative paintings and designs that he would occasionally re-create to support himself when he returned to America.


"Ben is happy only when he is creating something. he is an indefatigable worker: a steady stream of paintings and drawings pours from his studio, together with occasional pieces of small sculpture."
Henry Pitz
American Artist, May 1963

Top: Study for Leisure #2
Pencil on paper, 16 x 18, c. 1936