Through engaging interviews, testimonials, and anecdotes from photographers, curators, printers, and colleagues, Object Lesson: On the Influence of Richard Benson pays homage to a legendary figure whose name is synonymous with the evolving history and philosophy of photographic reproduction. From making platinum prints for Paul Strand and books with Lee Friedlander to his own experiments with inkjet and digital offset processes, and as a teacher and dean of the Yale School of Art, by the time of his death in 2017, Benson had inspired over three decades of students and artisans through his mentorship and work. In words and images, Object Lesson stands as a testament to Benson's wit, wisdom, and incomparable obsession with how photographic images render and connect us to the world. Text, image, and interview contributions by Michele Abeles, Marion Belanger, Barbara Benson, Richard Benson, Dawoud Bey, Andrew Borowiec, Lois Conner, Matthew Connors, Tim Davis, Benjamin Donaldson, Dru Donovan, Martina Droth, Shannon Ebner, Lucas Foglia, Peter Galassi, John Gambell, Jon Goodman, Bryan Graf, Gail Albert Halaban, Gary Haller, Heyward Hart, Robert J. Hennessey, Peter Kayafas, Lisa Kereszi, Justin Kimball, David La Spina, John Lehr, Susan Lipper, Salvatore Lopes, Peter MacGill, Tanya Marcuse, Lesley A. Martin, Miko McGinty, Sue Medlicott, Sarah Meister, Paul Messier, Andrea Modica, Matthew Monteith, Abelardo Morell, Arthur Ou, Thomas Palmer, Tod Papageorge, Ted Partin, Bradley Peters, John Pilson, Kristine Potter, Caitlin Teal Price, Sergio Purtell, Jock Reynolds, John Robinson, Jeff L. Rosenheim, Sasha Rudensky, Gary Schneider, David Benjamin Sherry, Steve Smith, Mark Steinmetz, Sarah Stolfa, Ka-Man Tse, James Welling, and Jeff Whetstone

A close look at the work, relationship, and shared influences of two masterful 20th-century artists "The camera," said Orson Welles, "is a medium via which messages reach us from another world." It was the camera and the circumstances of the Second World War that first brought together Henry Moore (1898-1986) and Bill Brandt (1904-1983). During the Blitz, both artists produced images depicting civilians sheltering in the London Underground. These "shelter pictures" were circulated to millions via popular magazines and today rank as iconic works of their time. This book begins with these wartime works and examines the artists' intersecting paths in the postwar period. Key themes include war, industry, and the coal mine; landscape and Britain's great megalithic sites; found objects; and the human body. Special photographic reproduction captures the materiality of the print as a three-dimensional object rather than a flat, disembodied image on the page. Published by the Yale Center for British Art/Distributed by Yale University Press Exhibition Schedule: The Hepworth Wakefield (February 7-November 1, 2020) Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich (November 21, 2020-February 28, 2021) Yale Center for British Art (November 17, 2022-February 26, 2023)