Pauline Benton

Pauline Corinth Benton (January 25, 1898 – November 22, 1974) was an American puppeteer and scholar, known for her work in Chinese shadow puppet theatre.

Early life and education Benton was born in Baldwin City, Kansas, the daughter of Guy Potter Benton and Dolla Konantz Benton. Her father was president of several universities, including the University of the Philippines; her mother and sister Helen were art and antiques collectors. She graduated from Barnard College in 1920. While visiting her aunt, Emma Konantz, a mathematics professor in Beijing, she studied Chinese shadow puppets there, with Li Tuochen. She also gave lectures on the art form. She and her troupe gave a performance at the White House in 1936, at the invitation of Eleanor Roosevelt. In 1940, the Red Gate Players performed in Madison, Wisconsin, at a benefit for a Chinese hospital. Her short film "Chinese Shadow Plays" was shown at the Nelson Gallery of Art in Kansas City in 1948.

Benton amassed a collection of over 600 antique shadow figures and other devices related to the art, and commissioned many more figures and scenery items especially for her own use. Benton and her sister donated their family's collection of textiles, sculptures, ceramics, and paintings to the MInnesota Museum of Art. "The Puppets of Carmel" (1960, Puppetry Journal)

Personal life and legacy Benton died from a brain tumor in 1974, at the age of 76, in Monterey, California. Benton was the subject of a biography, Shadow Woman: The Extraordinary Career of Pauline Benton (2013), published by McGill–Queens University Press. The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut exhibited her puppets in 2012, and hosted a symposium about Chinese shadow theatre in 2013. The Flushing Town Hall Gallery hosted exhibits about Benton's work in 2017 and 2025.