". . . .Benno (Benjamin Benno) was born in America of Russian-Jewish heritage and on the death of his mother in 1905 was sent to Russia. He was raised there by his maternal grandparents until his father brought him to New York in 1912.

Benno's father was an anarchist and promptly placed his already recalcitrant son in the Ferrer Modern School*, which was run by Emma Goldman and affiliated with anarchist movement in New York. There Benno had the opportunity to study art with Robert Henri and George Bellows and to become immersed in the art community that flourished around the Ferrer Center.

That community included members of the Alfred Stieglitz Circle such as Abraham Walkowitz and Man Ray. . . Benno's first one-m...