Pauline Benton

Pauline Benton
A young white woman with dark hair and eyes
Pauline Benton, from the 1920 yearbook of Barnard College
BornJanuary 25, 1898
Baldwin City, Kansas, U.S.
DiedNovember 22, 1974 (age 76)
Monterey, California, U.S.
OccupationsPuppeteer, arts administrator
Known forFounder of Red Gate Players (1932)
FatherGuy Potter Benton

Pauline Corinth Benton (January 25, 1898 – November 22, 1974) was an American puppeteer and scholar, known for her work in Chinese shadow puppet theatre.

Early life and education

Benton was born in Baldwin City, Kansas, the daughter of Guy Potter Benton[1][2] and Dolla Konantz Benton. Her father was president of several universities, including the University of the Philippines; her mother and sister Helen were art and antiques collectors.[3][4] She graduated from Barnard College in 1920.[5] While visiting her aunt, Emma Konantz, a mathematics professor in Beijing, she studied Chinese shadow puppets there,[6][7] with Li Tuochen.[8][9]

Career

Benton formed the Red Gate Players in New York in 1932, and presented shows based on traditional Chinese tales, using shadow puppets.[10][11][12] She also gave lectures on the art form.[9][13] She and her troupe gave a performance at the White House in 1936, at the invitation of Eleanor Roosevelt.[4] In 1937, the Red Gate Players gave daily summer programs in Ogunquit, Maine, and toured with dancer King Lan Chew.[14][15] In 1940, the Red Gate Players performed in Madison, Wisconsin, at a benefit for a Chinese hospital.[16] Her short film "Chinese Shadow Plays" was shown at the Nelson Gallery of Art in Kansas City in 1948.[17]

Benton amassed a collection of over 600 antique shadow figures and other devices related to the art, and commissioned many more figures and scenery items especially for her own use.[8] Her puppet collection was featured in an exhibit at the Minnesota Museum of Art in 1970 and 1971.[18] Benton and her sister donated their family's collection of textiles, sculptures, ceramics, and paintings to the MInnesota Museum of Art.[3]

Publications

  • "Me and My Shadows" (1953, Puppetry Journal)[19]
  • "The Puppets of Carmel" (1960, Puppetry Journal)[20]

Personal life and legacy

Benton died from a brain tumor in 1974, at the age of 76, in Monterey, California.[4] Her collections were partly donated to a museum, and partly handed along to another performer interested in Chinese shadow puppets, Jo Humphrey. When Humphrey retired in 1999, the collection was passed along to Kuang-yu Fong and Stephen Kaplin of Chinese Theatre Works.[21] Benton was the subject of a biography, Shadow Woman: The Extraordinary Career of Pauline Benton (2013), published by McGill–Queens University Press.[22] The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut exhibited her puppets in 2012,[23] and hosted a symposium about Chinese shadow theatre in 2013.[24] The Flushing Town Hall Gallery hosted exhibits about Benton's work in 2017 and 2025.[25]

References

  1. ^ "Guy Potter Benton, Educator, is Dead". 1927-06-30. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  2. ^ "'Red Gate Shadow Puppets' in Presentation Enchant Members of Klifa Club Yesterday". Burlington Daily News. 1933-04-28. p. 10. Retrieved 2025-08-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Helen Minnich, art collector, dies at 83". Star Tribune. 1975-08-15. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c Hayter-Menzies, Grant. Shadow Woman: The Extraordinary Career of Pauline Benton (McGill-Queens University Press 2013).
  5. ^ Barnard College, Mortarboard (1920 yearbook): 143.
  6. ^ "Monday Club Sees Chinese Shadow Plays; Founder of Red Gate Players Studied Old Art in Peking". The Herald-News. 1943-01-05. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-08-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Humphrey, Jo (1980). Monkey King, a celestial heritage : an introduction to Chinese culture through the performing arts : Chung-Cheng Art Gallery ... St. John's University, Jamaica, New York, March 22-June 22, 1980. Internet Archive. Jamaica, N.Y. : The Gallery. p. 16.
  8. ^ a b O'Toole, Rick (2011-09-28). "Pauline Benton". Ballard Institute and Museum. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  9. ^ a b Chen, Fan Pen Li (2007-06-21). Chinese Shadow Theatre: History, Popular Religion, and Women Warriors. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. pp. 15, 26, 59. ISBN 978-0-7735-7599-8.
  10. ^ "Chinese Legend Acted by Puppets". Deerfield Valley Times. 1934-05-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2025-08-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Shadow Puppet Show to be Seen Here". Democrat and Chronicle. 1935-05-03. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Shadow Plays at School 6 Monday". The Herald-News. 1944-03-29. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Lam, Jeanette (1954-03-02). "Director Pauline Benton Explains Intricacies of Chinese Shadow Play". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 16. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Red Gate Players Have Given Unusual Shadow-Plays This Season at Ogunquit". Sun-Journal. 1937-09-04. pp. 5A, 9A. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Chinese Actress at Art Gallery". The Morning Union. 1938-05-06. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-08-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Chinese Plays to Raise Fund for Dr. Greene; Red Gate Troupe Coming to Madison on Mar. 14". The Capital Times. 1940-02-15. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-08-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "'China', a Gallery Topic; Talk, Films and Plays on Saturday Program". The Kansas City Star. 1948-02-06. p. 29. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Art, Minnesota Museum of (1970). Shadow Figures of Asia: From the Collection of Pauline Benton, October 22, 1970 Through January 10, 1971. Minnesota Museum of Art.
  19. ^ Benton, Pauline (January–February 1953). "Me and My Shadows". Puppetry Journal. 4 (4): 3–4 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ Benton, Pauline (July–August 1960). "The Puppets of Carmel". Puppetry Journal. 12 (1): 6 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ Li, Mingjie (2018-01-02). "How a Bunch of Americans Preserved a Dying Chinese Tradition". SixthTone. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
  22. ^ "Master of Puppets". McGill-Queens University Press (MQUP). January 17, 2014. Archived from the original on 2025-04-25. Retrieved 2025-08-25.
  23. ^ "Puppetry Exhibit". Hartford Courant. 2012-03-11. pp. G02. Retrieved 2025-08-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Hirsch, Mary E (2013-07-01). "Report on the Chinese Shadow Theater Symposium, University of Connecticut, October 26–27, 2012". CHINOPERL. 32 (1): 72–85. doi:10.1179/0193777413Z.0000000001. ISSN 2835-317X.
  25. ^ "Chinese Theatre Works - "Red Gate: Pauline Benton & Chinese Shadow Theatre in America"". Flushing Town Hall Gallery. Retrieved 2025-08-24.
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