In memory of Charlotte Benton

24 January 2024

The Trustees of the Design History Society and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Design History are very sorry to hear of the death of Charlotte Benton. Charlotte was a pivotal figure in the development of the field of design history, and worked tirelessly for the Journal for many years. She published extensively, including many contributions to the JDH. A full obituary is in preparation, but in the meantime, the Trustees and Editors wish to signal recognition and appreciation of her life and work.

The funeral and memorial reception will be held in Cambridge, UK on February 9; enquiries to danbenton@gmail.com or tim.benton@open.ac.uk

Chair of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Design history Grace Lees-Maffei has contributed some words in reflection of Charlotte's contribution to the DHS, JDH and broader field:

Charlotte Benton (1944-2024) and the Journal of Design History

Charlotte Benton was a pivotal design historian who worked in several ways to advance the field.

From 1984-7, Charlotte was a member of the Design History Society sub-committee tasked with setting up what became the Journal of Design History. From 1987 she was a member of both the first Editorial Board of the JDH and the DHS Executive Committee. As Production Editor for the journal’s first decade, Charlotte supported hundreds of authors in facing what she vividly described as ‘the inexorable guillotine of the publisher's deadline’.[i]
They included Christopher Breward, who remembered that Charlotte was assigned editor for his ‘first and only article in the JDH - a truly formative experience! One I'm very grateful for.’[ii]

Among her publications is a monumental co-edited book to accompany the Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition on Art Deco,[iii] and a range of contributions to the JDH. These include reports on events such as a forum on reproduction fees, regular reviews, resources,[iv] and an obituary for fellow JDH Editorial Board member and Open University colleague in the creation of landmark course A305, Anthony Coulson.[v] Charlotte’s research articles for the JDH are ‘Le Corbusier: Furniture and the Interior’,[vi] a two-part article about Daniel Libeskind’s unbuilt extension for the V&A,[vii] and ‘From Tubular Steel to Bamboo: Charlotte Perriand, the Migrating Chaise-longue and Japan’.[viii]

A function of academic journals is, as the word ‘journal’ implies, to serve as a record of current knowledge and awareness in a field, but it is also important that the journal editors catalyse the research agenda. Charlotte’s 1998 Editorial for the Journal’s first special issue, on German design, called for ‘systematic examination and analysis of the careers of individual designers, the history of institutions (schools of art and design, museums, professional groups), and of particular sectors in which design plays a significant part (such as the automobile, furniture, and printing industries) during the period 1933-45.’[ix]

Charlotte Benton’s contribution to the field is built not only on her excellent scholarship and writing but also her many decades of work behind the scenes in which she applied her editor’s eye to drive projects and outputs to fruition.

Prof Dr Grace Lees-Maffei, Chair of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Design History
University of Hertfordshire, February 2024.

[i] C. Benton. 1988. ‘Editorial’, Journal of Design History 1 (3-4): iii.
[ii] C. Breward. 2024. Email to the author. 1 February. Breward’s article is Christopher Breward. 1994. ‘Femininity and Consumption: The Problem of the Late Nineteenth-Century Fashion Journal’, Journal of Design History 7 (2): 71–89.
[iii] C. Benton, T. Benton and G. Wood (eds.). 2003. Art Deco 1910–1939. London: V&A Publications.
[iv] C. Benton. 1990. ‘Selection of Texts on Aspects of Furniture Design’. Journal of Design History 3 (2-3): 157–174.
[v] C. Benton. 2000. ‘Obituary: Anthony Coulson, 1944-2000’, Journal of Design History 13 (3): 245-7.
[vi] C. Benton. 1990. ‘Le Corbusier: Furniture and the Interior’. Journal of Design History 3 (2-3): 103–124.
[vii] C. Benton. 1997. ‘”An insult to everything the Museum stands for” or “Ariadne’s thread” to “Knowledge” and “Inspiration”? Daniel Libeskind’s Extension for the V & A and its Context, Part I’. Journal of Design History 10 (1): 71–91; Charlotte Benton. 1997. ‘”An insult to everything the Museum stands for” or “Ariadne’s thread” to “Knowledge” and “Inspiration”? Daniel Libeskind’s Extension for the V & A and its Context, Part II’. Journal of Design History 10 (3): 309–328.
[viii] C. Benton. 1998. ‘From Tubular Steel to Bamboo: Charlotte Perriand, the Migrating Chaise-longue and Japan’. Journal of Design History 11 (1): 31–58.
[ix] C. Benton. 1988. ‘Editorial’, Journal of Design History 1 (3-4): iii.