Gordon Beningfield

A series of events will be held in the summer of 2018 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Beningfield's passing. These include a Flower festival at St John the Baptist Church as well as an exhibition of his artwork at the Natural History Museum.

In 2015, the Countryside Restoration Trust announced the 'Gordon Beningfield Dorset Farm Appeal'. The appeal aimed to turn Beningfield's dream of a working, wildlife-friendly farm in Hardy's Dorset, into a reality by raising £1 million. Shortly after the appeals launch, it was announced that Dame Judi Dench would serve as its patron.

Beningfield Wood, just outside of West Milton, Dorset was named in his honour. Originally fields of improved grasslands, mixed native broadleaves were planted across the 8.3 ha (20.5 acre) site in 1995.

Due to this fondness of the insect, Beningfield was made President of Butterfly Conservation following the death of inaugural President Sir Peter Scott in 1989. Following Beningfield's death in 1998, Sir David Attenborough was named president.

During his time in Hertfordshire, Beningfield lived in London Colney, Redbourn, and finally Water End, having moved to the village in 1980. In May 1998, Beningfield passed away as a result of cancer. He was buried at St John the Baptist church in Great Gaddesden, and is survived by his wife Betty and two daughters, Sally and Sarah.

Following the success of his inaugural exhibition, Beningfield became a freelance artist, working from the studio in his garden. Following continued success as an artist, in 1974 Beningfield was invited to participate in a television series for the BBC entitled Look Stranger. This would be the first of several forays into television for Beningfield, which included In Deepest Britain, The Country Game, In the Country and One Man and His Dog. Beningfield would later work on a documentary film, A Brush with Hardy, which celebrated his love for the works of Thomas Hardy.

Much of Beningfield's work involved butterflies, which he felt were overlooked. This decision to specialise on the insect led to the publication of Beningfield's first book, Beningfield's Butterflies, which was released in 1974. This specialisation also led to Beningfield being invited to design a set of Postage stamps for the Post Office in 1981. A further set, depicting a variety of British insects followed in 1985.

Born in Bermondsey, London, Beninginfield moved to Hertfordshire in 1941 as a result of The Blitz. His father was a lighterman and an amateur artist, who Beningfield describes as his first influence. Describing his school life, Beningfield claimed he was good at "very little", no doubt a result of his struggles with dyslexia, despite this, however, his Headmaster encouraged him to paint frequently and also introduced him to the works of another lifelong influence, J. M. W. Turner

Gordon George Beningfield (31 October 1936, Bermondsey – 4 May 1998, London) was an English wildlife artist, broadcaster and naturalist known for his watercolour artworks, most notably of butterflies.