NICK BENSON: A FRIEND, A MASTER, A MUSE
Nick Benson carving
I’ve been lucky to know Nick Benson for years, through his brother Christopher, an artist I knew from our days at Woodstock Country School. Meeting Nick was one of those gifts—the kind that reveals a lifelong passion and craft in a single conversation. Our first conversation centered on the distinction between the personality of fonts and lettering.
Nick isn’t just any stone carver—he’s a third-generation master, leading The John Stevens Shop in Newport, Rhode Island. When you peel back the layers, though, what strikes me most isn’t his lineage—it’s his heart. He learned the trade from his father*, soaking up calligraphy and type design in Basel, then returned to reinvent what hand-lettered stone could be.
In 2010, his path earned him a MacArthur “genius” Fellowship—not just for preserving a craft nearly vanished, but for stretching its boundaries in unexpected ways. You see it in the monumental inscriptions he’s carved—the MLK Memorial, the National WWII Memorial, the Eisenhower Memorial—each letter chiseled with the grace of a dancer’s step and the accuracy of an engineer’s blueprint.
Nick Working on MLK Memorial
But here’s the part I love most: Nick forays into pure art. I introduced him to my friend Serena Kovalosky for her “Slate as Muse” exhibition that she curated at the Slate Valley Museum, and he dove into slate—not for signage, but as art. That wall sculpture wasn’t a job; it was a poem in stone. You could feel the slate’s history and his reverence merging in that piece.
Serena Kovalosky in front of NIck’s piece
Since then, Nick’s art has expanded. His calligraphic preparatory drawings are like secret invitations to his creative mind. Each sketch shimmers with intent and rhythm.
Various studies. Nick Benson
I also admire the collaboration between Nick and Christopher on their book Art in the Making. It is a rich celebration of creativity—an engaging collection of essays and images from more than eighty makers across disciplines.
I’ll never forget watching Nick carve a Base64-encoded inscription into reclaimed marble for Farm Fresh RI. It was a breathtaking collision: ancient craft meeting digital poetry. That’s Nick—a bridge between worlds, holding tradition and invention in one steady hand.
Nicholas Benson, a renowned stone carver and 2010 MacArthur Fellow, created a unique art installation at Farm Fresh Rhode Island's headquarters in Providence. In May 2021, he hand-carved the words "History, Community, Sustainability"—encoded in Base64—into reclaimed Alabama marble blocks discovered on-site during the development of the facility. This work reflects Benson's exploration of the intersection between traditional craftsmanship and the digital age, transforming ephemeral digital code into enduring stone inscriptions. — https://gregcookland.com/wonderland/2021/05/20/nicholas-benson
Watching him work is special. In those quiet studio moments—sketching, chiseling, perfecting—you see the dialogue between mind, body, and material. That sensitivity, that dedication, is what makes Nick more than a carver. He’s an artist who reminds us why craftsmanship still matters.
Nick Benson isn’t just preserving a centuries-old craft—he’s breathing new life into it. He’s forging a future for stone and letter in our digital age.
I’m proud to call him a friend, thrilled to watch where his chisels, ink, and ideas will take him next.
Sources & Inspiration
Details on the “Slate as Muse” exhibition curated by Serena Kovalosky in collaboration with Nick Benson
Nick Benson’s early life, training in Basel, and leadership of The John Stevens Shop
His MacArthur Fellowship (2010) and significant public memorial commissions (MLK Memorial, WWII Memorial, Eisenhower Memorial)
His collaborative book Art in the Making with Christopher Benson
The Base64-encoded inscription project for Farm Fresh RI
Written with help from AI