His lapidary inscriptions conferred elegant permanence, and permanent elegance, on sites including the grave of President John F. Kennedy.
John Everett Benson, left, the stone carver who engraved President John F. Kennedy’s memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, applies clear lacquer to restore the lettering in 2010. John Everett Benson, a stone carver whose lapidary inscriptions mark the grave of President John F. Kennedy and sites including the National Gallery of Art, conferring elegant permanence and permanent elegance with their stately strokes and serifs, died June 13 in Newport, R.I. He was 84.
Located on a sloping hillside, the site included a long, low wall made of Deer Isle granite to be inscribed with quotations from Kennedy’s most famous speeches. His widow, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, personally visited the Newport shop to inspect the progress of the project. Mr. Benson, his son said, donned a fresh pair of bell-bottoms for the occasion., “Final Marks,” produced in the late 1970s.
Mr. Benson’s specialty was Roman lettering, a classical form that he rendered in what is known in the profession as a V-cut — and with his own combination of calligraphy and carving.He would first lay out an inscription on paper with a brush, perfecting each letter and line spacing. He then outlined the letters on tracing paper. Carbon or white transfer paper served to move the inscription onto the stone, where he brushed the inscription onto the surface.
John Everett Benson was born in Newport on Oct. 8, 1939. His mother, Esther Fisher Smith, a Quaker who used the “thee” and “thy” of traditional plain speech, was engaged in the city’s civic life.
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