William Arthur Smith Benson

William Arthur Smith Benson (also known as W.A.S. Benson) (17 October 1854 – 5 July 1924) was a British designer active in the Arts and Crafts Movement and an early exponent of electrical lighting design. He is regarded as the greatest British arts and craft lighting designer. Benson was a founding member of the Art Workers' Guild in 1884, and the Design and Industries Association in 1915.

Early life Benson was born on 17 October 1854 at 6 Sussex Square, Paddington, and was educated at Winchester College, before attending New College, Oxford between 1874 and 1877 studying classics and philosophy. As a child he had been taught how to practice metal work on a lathe, but upon leaving Oxford, he was articled to the London architect Basil Champneys. Benson would also collaborate with John Henry Dearle on the company's wallpaper designs. W.A.S. Benson & Company became a registered limited company in 1900, with Benson as chairman and Henry Currier Marillier as company secretary. In 1906, the managers of Morris & Co, Frank and Robert Smith approached Benson and Marillier about purchasing the Morris company, which they did and ran both companies jointly until 1908, when Benson concentrated on his own business and Marillier on Morris & Co after personal conflict. He was influential in the creation of the Home Arts and Industries Association, while Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo credits Benson with the idea for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in 1888. and the V&A. In 1900, German critic, Hermann Muthesius in his publication Das Englische Haus, a study of avant garde lighting devoted pages to Benson's designs. Muthesius wrote Benson was the first to develop his designs directly out of the purpose and character of the metal as material... he was the leading spirit in electrical appliances in England.

Kettle with heater, designed by William Arthur Smith Benson, made by W.A.S. Benson & Co., London, c. 1885, at Bröhan Museum, Berlin