Benito, Edouard

1891 – 1981
French, Spanish

Benito began his formal art training in his native Spain at the Belles Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, and continued his studies after World War I at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Here, his work caught the eye of the legendary Paul Poiret and he began his career as a designer of fabrics, furnishings and decorative objects.

His fresh approach to illustration and design brought him almost instant success and it was not long before he was a regular contributor to such important publications as Lucien Vogel’s “Gazette de Bon Ton” and “Femina”. Although one can clearly see the influence of Cubism in his work, Benito’s very stylized women go beyond that movement to exemplify the streamlined refinement of Modernism. It is this understated elegance which came to typify the Art Deco sensibility and earned Benito his reputation as an innovator of design.

Benito is probably best known for his 20-year career as the leading cover artist for International Vogue. After World War II, when photographers replaced graphic artists for magazine work, Benito continued his professional life as a successful portrait painter and muralist.