Photographer, educator, and pioneer of printing technologies, Richard Benson photographed extensively across the United States with his 8 x 10 view camera, and later with a digital camera. He taught for twenty-seven years at the Yale School of Art, ten years of which he was the Dean of the School. The 1988 full portfolio “The Touro Synagogue” comprises eight gelatin silver prints documenting exterior and interior views of the National Historic Site – the United States’ oldest synagogue, located in Newport, Rhode Island, where the artist was born. The synagogue was designed by British-American merchant, sea captain, and self-taught architect, Peter Harrison, and was completed in 1763. Benson’s sharp black-and-white images record the dark Palladian features on the exterior and the refined details of its pale interior, gate, and outside space. The portfolio was expertly produced by Palm Press in 1992 using seven different separation negatives from the original 8 x 10 negatives.

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