Biography

Benson’s career as a photojournalist has been extraordinary. Born in Glasgow, he left school aged thirteen and began working for a local paper, the Hamilton Advertiser. In 1958 he graduated to the cut-throat centre of the tabloid press on London’s Fleet Street, working for the Daily Sketch and then the Daily Express. On an assignment for the Daily Express, Benson travelled with the Beatles to America in 1964. Continuing to live and work in New York ever since, Benson’s photographs have graced the pages of the most influential magazines and newspapers of the twentieth century. He has photographed many of the century’s key figures and has documented some of the most decisive moments in history, such as the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the funeral of Martin Luther King Junior.