Mary Knight Benson

Mary Knight Benson (1877-1930)[1] was born to Sarah Knight, a Central Pomo speaker and master basket weaver. The Pomo tribe was a group of indigenous people of California who traditionally resided in the coastal region of Northern California above San Francisco.[2] When she met William Benson, she was already a master basket maker.[3] William, a speaker of the Eastern Pomo language and also a master basket weaver was skilled in many other aspects of Pomo culture.[4] The couple lived most of their lives on Pomo tribal territory near Ukiah, California where William was an elder, band chief, and tribal historian.[2][5] As a couple, they became renowned for their basket making.[6]

The Bensons may have been the first California Indians who supported themselves solely by crafting and selling their baskets to collectors and museums.[7] Beginning with the Spanish mission period on California, the Pomo, like other tribes, suffered drastic declines in population, severe cultural destruction, and the loss of homeland.[6][8] As such, they began working as laborers on farms and ranches that occupied their traditional lands.[6] However, a market for genuine, traditional baskets opened in the 1880s and lasted until the 1930s.[9]

William and Mary Benson took advantage of this commercial opportunity. While Pomo men did not traditionally make the kind of fine baskets demanded by the market, Mary helped hiim adapt his skill to the fine work done by women.[9] He was one of the few men who did so.[9] Mary developed her skills which grew to an astounding level and was noted for focusing on perfection.[10] She produced baskets that reflected her skillful weaving technique, astute material selection, remarkably straight lines, complicated diagonals, and complex patterns.[1]

Mary and William enjoyed significant success in their artist career of weaving Pomo baskets. They traveled widely and developed relationships with collectors and art dealers.[11] The couple demonstrated their weaving skills at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis in 1904. They had their own exhibit and jointly wove a basket that won the fair’s highest award.[7]

Baskets made by William and his wife Mary are curated in museums such as the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian, and the Field Museum of Natural History[2][10] and are known as some of the finest ever woven.[12]