Name Howard Besnia | ||
Howard John Besnia (born Worcester, Massachusetts; died Sterling, Massachusetts 1921–2014) was an artist and educator whose career spanned over seven decades. He produced works in many painting and drawing media, and was a prolific print maker and creator of hand made books., He received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Yale University, and was a tenured faculty member and head of the Art Department of Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts.
In 1943, Besnia entered active service in the U.S. Army, and served as a cartographer for the OSS until 1946. In 1944 he worked as the staff artist at the Stagedoor and penthouse USO clubs, producing over 200 caricatures and 400 pastel portraits. In 1946, he had a one-man show at The Arts Club of Washington D.C.
Besnia later attended the Corcoran School of Art, and eventually moved back to Massachusetts. There, he enrolled at Clark University, which was affiliated with the Worcester Art Museum. He followed those studies at Yale University, where he received BFA (1949) and MFA (1950) degrees.