Benjamin is a classically trained painter whose work follows the tradition of portraiture, still life, and the mastercopy.

For him, painting is an act of truly seeing, a practice of slowing time, distilling a fleeting moment onto canvas so it may be contemplated forever. In this era of relentless speed and disposability, a devotion to a practice of collecting moments feels radical, necessary, and defiantly out of step with contemporary culture. He has an interest in fantasy and dwells on gesture, gaze, and atmosphere, highlighting quiet, charged moments between subject and object.

As a copyist at the National Gallery, he once met a patron who observed, “I see 300 years of art history, practice, and technique between that Rubens and the painting you are making.” Benjamin replied, “I’ll put that in my artist statement.”

After earning his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016, he spent many years teaching painting and drawing before turning to community organizing, later earning an MA in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Chicago in 2023—a path that ultimately led him to Washington, DC. He now works for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and lives in Takoma.

Instagram: @benjaminjamesbutlerwills