Hoie Gallery: An Enduring Artistic Legacy

Claus Hoie was born in Stavanger, Norway, November 3, 1911. He lived for a few years in Oslo before emigrating to the United States at the age of thirteen, when he settled in Brooklyn, NY.

He spent time at sea (two years), a heritage from his grandfather and father who were both ship’s captains. During World War II, Hoie served four years in the Army as a Sergeant in a special Norwegian-American battalion of the mountain infantry (99th Infantry Battalion), whose mission was to assist in the liberation of Norway. His Battalion also landed on Normandy Beach five days after D-Day.

After the war, he studied art at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Claus also attended Pratt Institute, and at the Art Students League in New York. Hoie worked as an independent artist creating primarily watercolor works and graphics However, also was a commercial artist.

In the 1950s he met the young artist and fashion designer, Helen Hunt Bencker and in 1957 they wed. Helen Hoie, went on to have a successful career as an artist in her own right. The two lived out their days on the East End of Long Island. Creating artwork, singing duets together, and living their lives to their fullest together and with their friends.

Claus Hoie has exhibited his watercolors and graphics at the American Watercolor Society between 1960 and 1994; Brooklyn Museum Watercolor Biennial, 1963; Museum of Watercolor Painting, Mexico City, Mexico, 1968 and 1989; Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Annual, 1969; and the Childe Hassam Award Exhibition, National Institute of Arts and Letters, 1973.

He has had numerous one-man shows in places such as the Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah, IA, 1976; Akershus Castle Museum in Oslo, Norway, 1982; South Street Seaport Museum, NY, 1992, Mystic Seaport Museum, 1994 and 1998; and, the Nordic Heritage Museum, Seattle, 1998.

Hoie has also been the author of several articles about his work. He has written and illustrated a book, Whaler Helena of Sag Harbor in the South Pacific, 1843-1845 (1994). In addition, he provided some text and illustrations for a booklet entitled, "The Viking Battalion" by Audrey Wendland published in 1998.

He received numerous awards for his work including prizes awarded in 1985 and 1988 from the National Academy of Design, honors and medals from the American Watercolor Society spanning the years 1955 through 1988, an award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1975, and an award from the Audubon Artists Annual Exhibition in 1990. He also received the Marine Environmental Wildlife Award from the Mystic Seaport Museum in 1998.

Hoie’s paintings and graphics are in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Oklahoma Museum of Art, National Academy of Design, Norwegian-American Museum, University of Minnesota, and Brigham Young University. The works he exhibited at the Norwegian-American Museum eventually were acquired by Akershus Museum in Oslo, Norway. These watercolors focused on the training of mountain troops for the U.S. Army Special Forces unit of which he was a member during World War II.

Born in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, Helen Hunt Bencker was interested in art from an early age. She Went on to study painting and illustration and attained her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh. She intended to embark on a career in commercial and fine arts.

In a twist, Helen’s career took a turn and she found herself on a path in the world of fashion. She built a highly successful career as an award-winning designer and Creative Director with major international firms. She became known for her discerning eye and timeless style of sophisticated elegance imbued with a balance of artistry, glamour, and femininity.

After marrying Claus Hoie in 1956 and moving to East Hampton in the 1960s, Helen shifted her focus from the Fashion World to the fine art world. She would go on to exhibit her emotionally charged collages and paintings with major galleries and institutions locally and elsewhere in the United States. Her works are poetry in paper and pigment and resonate through the decades.

Biography/CV

Born: Leetsdale, Pennsylvania

Education: B.A., Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa. Department of Painting, Study with Kenneth Shopen, University of Vermont; Elliot O'Hara, Maine; Henry Pearson, New York; Alexander Russo, East Hampton, N.Y.

Awards:

• National Academy of Design 163rd Annual Exhibition

• Certificate of Merit 1988

• Audubon Artists Annual Exhibitions, N.Y.

• Len G. Everett Award 1990

• Silver Medal of Honor 1987

• National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, N.Y.

• Binney and Smith Award 1989

• Arches-Canson Rives Award 1986

• Michael M. Engel Memorial Award 1985

• John J. Newman Medal 1983

• First Prize, 25th Annual Exhibition 1978

• Elizabeth Erlanger Award 1976

• Individual Exhibition Award, 24th Annual Juried Exhibition Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, N.Y. 1977

• First Prize, Abstract Painting, Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton 1970

• Who's Who in American Art

Solo Exhibitions:

• Bridgehampton Museum, Bridgehampton N.Y., “H.HOIE: Paintings and Collages”, Spring 2024

• St. Mary's College of Maryland 1994

• Harmon-Meek Gallery, Naples, Fla. 1987, 1991, 1993

• Ruth Vered Gallery, East Hampton, N.Y. 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994

• Forum Gallery, New York, N.Y. 1984 "Collages" Stavanger Museum, Stavanger, Norway 1983

• Elaine Benson Gallery, Bridgehampton, N.Y. 1972, 1977, 1983

• Adelphi University, Garden City, N.Y. 1981

• Babcock Galleries, New York, N.Y. 1974, 1977, 1983

• Light-at-the-Beach Gallery, Southampton, N.Y.1981

• Parrish Art Museum, Retrospective 1968-1978, Southampton, N.Y.1978

• Maison Francaise, New York University, New York, N. Y. 1976

• Upstairs Gallery, East Hampton, N.Y. 1973

• Southampton College, Southampton, N.Y. 1971

• Maison Francaise, New York University, New York, N.Y., 1976

• Upstairs Gallery, East Hampton, N.Y. 1973

• Southampton College, Southampton, N.Y. 1971

Group Exhibitions:

• Provincetown Art Association "The League of the Cape" 1993

• Gallery International 52, New York, N.Y. 1987

• Forum Gallery, New York, N.Y. "Large Paintings" 1986

• Forum Gallery, New York, N.Y. "Collages" 1986

• Provincetown Museum of Art, Provincetown, Ma. "Cross Currents"1986

• National Academy of Design Annual, New York, N.Y. 1986 - 19 9м

• Benton Gallery, Southampton, N.Y. Inaugural Exhibit 1986

• East Hampton Star, 100th Anniversary Exhibition, Guild Hall, East Hampton, N.Y. 1985

• Bergen Museum of Art & Science, Paramus, NJ. "Collage, the State of the Art" 1985

• Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, N.Y. 30th Juried Exhibition 1970-1992

• Susan Blanchard Gallery, New York, N.Y. 1985

• National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, New York, N.Y. 1977-1990

• Adelphi University Art Gallery 1983

• Audubon Artists, Inc., New York, N.Y. 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989

• Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, N.Y."1 + 1=2" 1993

• Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, N.Y. "Poets and Artists" 1982

• Elaine Benson Gallery, New York, N.Y. "Dore Ashton Selects" 1982

• Phoenix Fine Art Gallery, Frederick, Md. 1980

• East Hampton Art Colony from the Guild Hall Collection

• Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 1980

• Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, Miss. 1980

• Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, Fla. 1979

• Women Artists of Eastern Long Island, Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, NY  1979

• American Academy of Arts & Letters, Hassam Fund Exhibition, 1971 1978

• National Academy of Design, Ranger Fund Exhibition 1978

• Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. 1976

• Fairleigh Dickenson University, Hackensack, N.J. 1976

• Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, N.Y. Annual Invitational 1976

• Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, Annual 1975

• Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y. Works on Paper/Women Artists 1975

• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. 1975

• Randolph-Macon Women's College, Lynchburg, Va. 1975

• State University of New York, Binghamton, N.Y. 1975

• Chatham College, Pittsburgh, Pa. 1975

• New York Community College, New York, N.Y. 1975

• Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, N.Y. Long Island Painters Exhibition,1971, 1972, 1973, 1974

Collections:

• The Bridgehampton Museum, Bridgehampton, NY

• The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.

• Guild Hall, East Hampton, N.Y.

• Centre College of Kentucky, Danville, Ky.

• The Parrish Art Museum, Southampton, N.Y.

• The Stephen's Collections, Little Rock, AK