Benjamin-Constant, Jean-Joseph

The Paris native had been educated first at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse and then in Paris, in the studio of Alexandre Cabanel.  He exhibited for the first time in the Salon of 1869, and continued to exhibit and win frequent medals through the 1890s. Benjamin-Constant would be welcomed into the Legion of Honor in 1893 and awarded multiple contracts for decorating government buildings in France, from the Sorbonne to the Paris City Hall.  Benjamin-Constant taught as well at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and at the Académie Julian. As a successful Paris artist, he studied with and worked alongside William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) and Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904).

In the fall of 1888, Benjamin-Constant came to New York.  He exhibited some of his work at a 5th Avenue Gallery. After a long stay in New York, Benjamin-Constant sailed back to Paris in February of 1889 where he continued to paint and teach notable pupils such as American Illustrator, J. C. Leyendecker at the Académie Julian.