William Arthur Benson set up his business W. A. S. Benson and Co in 1880 at North End Road, West Kensington, London. Working within the English Arts and Crafts Movement, his firm’s reputation for fine metalwork soon grew. Benson’s designs for lighting and table ware in copper, brass and silver plate have become increasingly collectable as his work has become more widely appreciated. Benson and Co. moved to larger premises in Hammersmith and continued until 1920 when he went into retirement.
This piano candlesticks was also designed to be carried in the hand and placed down safely.
Benson designed hundreds of items for modern living in an age of social change and catered to modern clients who were now living in their homes without staff, cleaning and cooking for themselves in an informal manner. With these clients in mind, Benson created a lacquer for brass and copper to stop tarnishing which was a huge success in the modern home. Something that set Benson apart from other Arts and Crafts designers was his passion for industry and machinery. His workshop was full of machines and chemicals that he used in his creation process and this showed in his work through interesting mechanisms, joints and visible wires.
Some of other designs by William Arthur Smith Benson: