Fletcher Benton

Born in the coal, nugget and iron-producing district of southern Ohio, Benton was a successful sign painter as a youth.

After serving in the United States Navy, he graduated from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1956.

[3] Benton was a part of the Beatnik movement in San Francisco during the ‘50s and ‘60s working as a sign painter by day and an expressionist artist (painting) by night.

In 1961, he had a solo exhibition at the California Palace Legion of Honor, showing his portraits of fellow artists like David Simpson and William Morehouse.

In 1995, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters by the University of Rio Grande, located in Gallia County, Ohio.