The master of fictitious beauty - masks by Władysław Benda

Model Marion Morehouse and actress Helen Lyons, her dress by Kargère, photograph by Edward Steichen, Vogue, 1926.

Władysław T. Benda was first known primarily as a graphic artist. He illustrated books, short stories, advertising copy, and magazine covers for the likes of Collier's, McCall's, Ladies' Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, and many others; in his day he was as well known as Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, or Maxfield Parrish. But beginning in 1914, Benda quickly became perhaps better known as a mask maker and costume designer. His sculpted, papier-mâché face masks were used in dance and theatrical productions - he created work for plays by for such writers as Eugene O'Neill and Noël Coward - and often feature in his own paintings and illustrations. Benda also created "grotesque" masks, which were more caricature or fantastic in nature; he created the original mask design for the movie The Mask of Fu Manchu. Articles by and about Benda and his masks appeared regularly in many of the same magazines and publications that carried his graphic work. In the latter stages of his career, Benda spent less time doing illustration and more time making masks. In the 1930s, he authored the Encyclopædia Britannica entry on masks and later wrote a study of his own designs and unique construction techniques.

With his daughter, Eleanora, 1926.

Two photographs by Arnold Genthe, circa 1920s.

A Bonwit Teller window, 1949.

The mask used in the window display, above.

Model Marion Morehouse wearing a dress by Tappé, photograph by Edward Steichen, Vogue, 1926.

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Władysław Teodor "W.T." Benda (15 January 1873, Poznań, Poland, then part of the German Empire – 30 November 1948, Newark, New Jersey), Polish painter, illustrator, and designer. The son of musician Jan Szymon Benda and a nephew of the actress Helena Modjeska), he studied art at the Kraków College of Technology and Art in his native Poland and at the School of Fine Arts in Vienna. He came to the United States in 1899, stopping first in California, then moving to New York City in 1902, where he attended the Art Students League of New York and the William Merritt Chase School. While there, Benda studied under Robert Henri and Edward Penfield. He joined the Society of Illustrators in 1907, the Architectural League in 1916, and was also a member of the National Society of Mural Painters. He married and he and his wife, Romola, had two daughters, Eleonora and Basia, who both went on to become artists. He became a naturalized American in 1911, but remained proud of his Polish heritage, becoming closely associated with the Polish-American cultural institution, The Kosciuszko Foundation. And during the two World Wars, he designed many posters for both Poland and America.