Bentley, Wilder Mayo (1928-2018) | University of Illinois Archives

Name: Bentley, Wilder Mayo (1928-2018)

Variant Name: Wilder Bentley the Younger, Wilder Bentley II

Historical Note: Wilder Mayo Bentley (1928-2018) was a printmaker, painter, craftsman, and composer. He was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in Berkeley, California. He learned printing and typesetting from his father, Harvey Wilder Bentley. Bentley graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1951. He studied Sumi painting with Chiura Obata. In 1959, he opened the Bread and Wine Press in San Francisco, publishing his original prints and compositions. While in San Francisco, Bentley befriended several individuals connected to the counterculture movement, including musician Lou Gottlieb and composer Ramon Sender. Bentley died in Sonoma, California on October 11, 2018.

Sources:

Abby Wasserman, "From the Archives: The Psychedelic Rise and Fall of Two Sonoma Communes," Sonoma Magazine, February 2024, online at: https://www.sonomamag.com/sonoma-county-communes/

Wilder Mayo Bentley Biography, The Annex Galleries, online at: https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/175/Bentley/Wilder.

Note Author: Nolan Vallier