Gallery Hours: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 10-3, Other times by appointment. Phone 508-533-6277

 

 

 

In 1950, Howard John Besnia built his dream home and studio on top of a hill in Sterling, Massachusetts.  He designed it to reflect his interests.  It had an astronomical observatory, a darkroom, an oil painting studio with a twenty-foot ceiling; a watercolor studio; a classroom, and a printmaking studio filled with massive historical presses.  He dubbed it Skycrest Studio, and a few years later changed the name to Scarab Press.

 

Scarab Press produced a prodigious number of fine prints by "Doctor" Besnia and other artists, along with a number of meticulously created artist-made books.  It became a regional center for fine printmaking, and a nationally recognized private press for small-edition books.

 

Over the years, Scarab Press became a repository for hundreds of examples of editions produced by regional artists. Some of them were students making their first editions. Others were seasoned artists who used the facility to produce masterpieces. 

 

Mr. Besnia also collected historical prints and contemporary fine prints by his friends and favorite artists. 

 

He continued painting until a few months before his death at age 93, adding to the thousands of artworks created during his long career.  The style of his works encompassed W.P.A. style mural projects, portraiture, wildlife studies, surrealism, depictions of the cosmos, and stylized landscapes.

 

Howard John Besnia received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from Yale University, and was a tenured faculty member of Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts.

 

The Observatory:

Photos c.1960