Spruance, Benton Murdoch

Benton Murdoch Spruance was born in Philadelphia. Recognized as one of the most groundbreaking twentieth-century printmakers, he was a chromolithographer. After taking architectural classes at the University of Pennsylvania, he earned a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he studied with Daniel Garber. He taught at what is now Arcadia University, where he also served as chairman of the Fine Arts Department for thirty-four years. Later he became the director of graphic arts at the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts). His work has been shown nationally and internationally. He was awarded two Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships, in 1950 and 1964.