Feb. 21, 1921 -- Oct. 10, 2007

Saturday, October 13, 2007

By Linda Wilson Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Painting and art played key roles for Florence Benaquista all of her adult life.

She gave art lessons, especially in oil painting, to children and adults, and for nearly four decades she owned and operated the Benaquista Arts and Frames shop in Bellevue.

Mrs. Benaquista, of Ross, died Wednesday in the North Hills Health and Rehabilitation Center in Pine after a short illness. She was 86.

Mrs. Benaquista, whose maiden name was DeLisio, grew up in the Woods Run neighborhood on the North Side and met her husband, Michael Benaquista, at a dance not long after he returned home from service in World War II.

"My father saved up his money while in the service and he started the Manchester Paint Co." on the North Side shortly after he came home, said the couple's son, Mitchell E. of Ross. Mrs. Benaquista was involved in the company, "which was a thriving business through the 1960s" when the family lost their building to an urban renewal project, he said.

"They reopened the painting business on California Avenue in the North Side, but that just didn't go well," Mr. Benaquista said.

So in 1966 the couple moved their business to Lincoln Avenue, Bellevue's "main street" shopping district and transformed their business into a different kind of paint shop.

"My mother was a gifted artist and had taken painting lessons all her life," her son said. At Benaquista Arts and Frames the couple sold painting supplies and offered framing services and art lessons to customers.

"At first my mother taught no lessons but had other artists in to teach and she would attend the lessons herself. Along the way she started teaching."

In 1987 the shop was moved to North Balph Avenue.

She worked in her shop and continued to teach until about two years ago, when her husband died. The couple had been married for 63 years, their son said.

Mrs. Benaquista offered to sell the shop to a longtime student, Susan Matthews.

"I couldn't pass it up," said Ms. Matthews. She changed the name to Matthews Art and it's still operating at 12 N. Balph Ave.

"I took oil painting classes from her. Her students included a group of regulars, who I think are pretty good, and others who come and go. We all admired her. She was very kind and very smart. She was a good teacher and a good businesswoman. You wouldn't believe how many people still come in and ask about her. She touched so many lives," Ms. Matthews said.

Other survivors include three brothers, Leonard of Ross, Lawrence of the North Side and Donald of the South Hills; three grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

A Mass will be celebrated today at 10 a.m. in St. Teresa of Avila Church, Ross.

First published on October 13, 2007 at 12:19 am