William Behnken

Bill Behnken, a lifelong resident of New York, began his studies as an artist at the High School of Music and Art. He earned his M.A. and B.A. at the City College of New York, where he has been teaching for over three decades. From 1984 to 2000, Mr. Behnken taught printmaking and drawing at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum School’s summer sessions. He was also a printmaking instructor at the National Academy of Design, School of Fine Art, from 2001 to 2007.

Among Mr. Behnken’s honors are his election to such professional organizations as Phi Beta Kappa, the Society of American Graphic Artists, the Boston Printmakers, and the National Academy of Design. He has also received many awards, his most recent being the Gold Medal of Honor in Graphics from Audubon Artists, the Emile and Dines Carlsen Award from the National Academy of Design, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alumni Association of the City College of New York.

Mr. Behnken was commissioned by the Print Club of Albany to produce their 2006 edition of Collector’s Print. His working process was the subject of an article in American Artist magazine’s drawing issue in May 2007.

Mr. Behnken has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His work is in such collections as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, the Indianapolis Museum, the New Orleans Museum, the British Museum, and the Fitzwilliam Museum, among others. His work is represented by The Old Print Shop in New York City, Allen Platt Fine Art in Chicago, and the Julie Heller Gallery in Massachusetts.