William Benson, whose etching View of the Village was exhibited in the Fine Arts Festival held March 31 through April 7, 1962, received his MFA degree from the University of Iowa.  He studied there under noted printmakers Mauricio Lasansky, Virginia Myers and Keith Achepohl, receiving his degree in 1962.

After graduation, Benson taught at the State University of New York in Plattsburgh.  He then moved on to Valparaiso University where he established their print program and taught for four years.  Subsequently he was invited to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, where he was a faculty member since 1968, retiring to become a Professor of Art, Emeritus.

In this position, he taught printmaking, two-dimensional design, methods courses for elementary-middle school teachers and a general course for non-art majors.  More recently, Benson returned to the University of Iowa to study with Virginia Myers and participate in her foil workshop.  He purchased an Iowa Foil Printer and received numerous commissions working with this new process.

Benson wrote about View of the Village saying it was the expression of nostalgia many people experience as they traverse through an area such as Decorah or other Iowa locations, such as Iowa City.  He explained that creation of the print involved two intaglio plates, the first carrying the ochre followed by the black. He also noted that the image is a composite of a number of locations.

Ref: Fine Arts Collection files