We have documented Stephen Mather’s support of fellow Chicagoans’ artistic talents in his selection of Walter Burley Griffin to design the Homestead’s formal gardens.
A life member of the Art Institute of Chicago, Stephen tapped an Institute-educated artist for his portrait that is displayed in the Keeping Room.
Frank Conrade Bensing (1893-1963) was an acclaimed illustrator whose work appeared in Redbook, McCall’s, and Saturday Evening Post. Additionally, he did advertising illustrations for Coke, General Electric, Karo Syrup and others.
A remembrance from his grandson recalls that Bensing was blind in one eye due to a childhood case of scarlet fever and among his other portrait subjects was Joseph P. Kennedy.
Bensing is buried in Woodstock Cemetery, Woodstock NY, with his wife Flavia Olson Bensing.
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