Tribute to Penelope Bennett

Penny was a favorite model of many Upper Valley artists and, because she herself was also an extremely talented artist, she would always choose the most challenging poses. We artists appreciated the opportunity to depict a mature female, so comfortable in her own body that she willingly shared it, not just because she needed the money but moreover for the sake of art itself. For example, when Penny participated in life drawing sessions where the model failed to show up, she would set aside her brushes and pose for the rest of us so that the session could continue.

Opportunities for drawing from the human form were often limited in the Upper Valley so Penny opened her home studio to other artists for sessions with a live model. She drew alongside us offering hot tea, warm woodstove and plenty of enthusiastic encouragement.

Penny and I engaged in art as both colleagues and as model/artist over a period of 20 years. When she coped with several serious illnesses, I watched her soldier on, making remarkable recoveries one after another, until finally one day she could do that no longer.

You may view other images of Penny in the gallery of figures elsewhere on this website. A selection of my prints joins those of other 14 other artists in a visual tribute at Two Rivers Printmaking Studio in the Tip Top Building, White River Junction, VT.

“Many Artists, One Model: a tribute to Penny Bennett” until August 24th, 2023