The Bennett Family Light Up the Leonardo Challenge

Lower School art teacher Sue Bennett 1973 and her husband, former Hamden Hall faculty member Dave Bennett, participated in the 28th Annual Leonardo Challenge hosted by the Eli Whitney Museum.

Each year, the Eli Whitney Museum hosts an auction and art challenge that raises funds for its scholarship and outreach programs. Local artists donate pieces that are auctioned off throughout the night as guests enjoy refreshments and entertainment. The theme for the 2024 art challenge was Leonardo’s Light as the museum chooses themes that relate to the work of the late artist Leonardo da Vinci.

For their piece, Dave built a large modern-looking wooden table lamp with geometric slits, which allows the light to shine through. Sue carefully painted each side using a bright white base with horizontal and vertical black lines that create geometric squares and rectangles. The colors: blue, red and yellow, were added in the crisp style of Mondrian, as inspired by artist Piet Mondrian. 

This year’s auction event is on Thursday, May 16.

The Bennetts said they are always thrilled to share their talents and help such a wonderful museum, which is an integral part of the Lower School art program here on campus.