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Tyson Street, by Bennard Perlman, n.d. Oil on masonite. 24 1/16 x 19 61/64 in. (61.1 x 50.7 cm.). Peale Museum Collection. Maryland Historical Society, City Life Museums Collection, Accession: MA2450.
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Medium/Discipline: Painting, Works on Paper
Maryland Affiliation: Born here, Active while in residence
Prominent Theme: Cityscape; Abstraction
Style/Period: Social Realism; Abstract Expressionism
Gender: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Biography: Bennard Perlman was born in Baltimore and was a teacher and art history researcher as well as a painter in inks and oils. Perlman received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Institute of Technology and Master of Arts degree in art history and painting from the University of Pittsburgh. He also pursued graduate studies at The Johns Hopkins University.
His early work, which realistically portrayed the city, shared an affinity with the Realists, or "Ashcan School" under Robert Henri. Perlman's later work of the 1960s and forward was abstract in style, owing in part to the influence of the Abstract Expressionist movement.
In keeping with his interest in social realism, Perlman wrote The Immortal Eight: American Painting from Eakins to the Armory Show about Henri and the other seven social realist painters who held their own show in 1908 at the Macbeth Gallery in New York City. Perlman's thesis connects the scientific realism of Thomas Eakins to the anti-Victorian sensibilities and realistic style of The Eight and discussed the art made from 1870 to 1913 as indigenous American art. He published a number of other exhibition catalogs and books about The Eight and their significance to American art history, as well as articles for art periodicals such as Art in America, Arts, American Artist and Art Voices.
Perlman taught art at the Baltimore Community College (BCC) for more than 25 years; in 1978, he held his 50th One-Man Show and simultaneously celebrated his 25th Year on the BCC art faculty. During his tenure at the college, he served as head of the art department there. He also served as visiting lecturer on American Art at Oxford University in England in 1975, Dartmouth College in 1981, Towson State University, Goucher College, Loyola College and Morgan State University. In Baltimore, he also served as art critic for Baltimore Magazine and radio and television programs (WBJC-FM and WBAL).
Perlman's artwork has been held by, or remains in the collection of: the Library of Congress; the Federal Reserve Bank; U.S. Steel; American Airlines; Peterson, Howell & Heather; The University of Arizona (Tucson); Weinberg & Green, as well as in hundreds of private collections, including those of David Rockefeller, Jr.; Betsy and Andrew Wyeth; and Olga and the Joseph Hirschhorn.
Perlman and his wife, Miriam, had one son and three daughters.
Education/Training: B.F.A., Painting and Design, Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1949; M.A., Painting and Art History, University of Pittsburgh, 1950
Art-related Employment: Painter; Instructor; Researcher; Member, National Executive Board of the Artists Equity Association; President, Greater Baltimore Arts Council; Chairman, Baltimore Museum of Art' Artists' Committee; President of the Maryland Chapter of the Artists Equity Association; Vice President of Artists Equity Association (national)
Selected References: Perlman, Bennard. The Immortal Eight: American Painting from Eakins to the Armory Show, Exposition-Banner, 1962, rev. 1979.
Perlman, Bennard. Various Exhibition Pamphlets & Excerpt from Who's Who in Art & Antiques, n.d. The Baltimore Museum of Art Library Vertical Files.
Sawyer, Kenneth B., "The Gallery Situation Becomes 'Heady'," Baltimore Sun, February 21, 1960.
Other Publications: Perlman, Bennard. The Golden Age of American Illustration, 1978.
Perlman, Bennard. The Immortal Eight: American Painting from Eakins to the Armory Show, Exposition-Banner, 1962, rev. 1979.
Perlman, Bennard. One Percent Art in Civic Architecture, National Endowment for Arts, 1972.
Perlman, Bennard. North Light: The Eight and Its Influence, Exhibition Catalog, Art Students League New York, 1983.
Perlman, Bennard. Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of The Eight, Exhibition Catalog, Whitney Museum of American Art, 1983.
Maryland Institutions Holding Artworks: The Baltimore Museum of Art; The Peale Museum/Maryland Historical Society
Single-Artist Exhibitions: partial list:
The Baltimore Museum of Art.
I.F.A. Galleries, Washington, D.C.
Vanderlitz Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts.
Lyford Key Gallery, Bahamas.
Recent Paintings by Bennard B. Perlman, Towson State College, Baltimore, Maryland, February 5-March1, 1965.
Bennard Perlman, Community College of Baltimore, February-March, 1978.
New Paintings by Bennard Perlman, Hoffberger Gallery, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, November 1-December 4, 1983.
Paintings by Bennard Perlman, Featuring His New Grand Canyon Suite, Tomlinson Craft Collection, Baltimore, Maryland, September-October, 1985.
Paintings by Perlman, Katzenstein Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland, April 10-29, 1988.
Bennard Perlman: 50 Years of His Art, Hoffberger Gallery, Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, November-December, 1991.
Bennard Perlman: Six Decades of His Art, Baltimore Life Gallery, Baltimore Life Insurance Company, Owings Mills, Maryland, October 6-December 2, 1994.
Multiple-Artist Exhibitions: partial list:
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Franz Bader Gallery, Washington, D.C.
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA.
Kennedy Galleries, New York, New York.
Contemporary Arts Gallery, New York, New York.
Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, PA.
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio.
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Texas.
Laguna Beach Art Association, California.
Awards: partial list:
Freeland Art Award, Maryland Artists Exhibition, The Baltimore Museum of Art.
First Prize and Museum Purchase, Peale Museum, Baltimore, Maryland.
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