The Legacy
M. "Buddy" Benz was the founder and guiding spirit of the Benz School of Floral Design. Class of '32 and distinguished alumnus, Mr. Benz first came to Texas A&M as a student in the Department of Landscape Art. It was during his time at Texas A&M that he began to realize an appreciation for art and beauty in all its forms.
After graduation and military duty, Mr. Benz settled in Houston, where he opened a landscape and floral design business. As his reputation for exciting and innovative designs spread across the country, he also became an extensive traveler and lecturer who carefully observed the art and history of people wherever he went. The broad exposure from his travels gave Mr. Benz an insight into the theories of design, as well as the motivation to teach and write.
Among the most enduring tributes to M. "Buddy" Benz are the books that explain his design theories. Mr. Benz holds a unique place in the floral field--he is the only person to have developed three distinct theories in floral art. Each theory is presented in its own highly prized book.
Flowers: Geometric Form is based on scientific research of American culture. Mr. Benz' first book has been accepted by prominent authorities in the commercial field and approved as a text-book in colleges, universities, and vocational and industrial schools. No other book on floral design has served the commercial field so well for more than 50 years--in fact, it's known as the "florist's Bible" by most shop owners and managers. Now in its sixth edition and tenth printing, the book has been revised by Mr. Johnson and Mr. McKinley and is the official text for the Benz School.
Flowers: Free Form--Interpretive Design is the showcase for Mr. Benz' second theory: using the form and color of flowers (instead of set patterns) to create personal expressions of floral art. Mr. Benz compared the floral designer's use of form and color to the modern artist's use of brush and paints--both creating impressions of time, space, and emotional content. This fine book, now a collectors item is out of print.
Flowers: Abstract Form is Mr. Benz' final book, which sets forth his third theory of floral design. Here, floral art is presented as a visual experience, one that is imaginative, provocative, and challenging. This volume, which elevates floral art to the realm of fine art, was appropriately introduced at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.
The legacy of M. "Buddy" Benz has three parts. First and foremost is the Benz School of Floral Design, permanently located at Texas A&M. Second is the San Jacinto Publishing Company as well as the copyrights and publishing rights of his three books, which are available through the school and Texas A&M University Press.
Third is the Benz collection. During his considerable travels, Mr. Benz became a discriminating collector of fine arts and photography. he owned an impressive range of paintings, sculpture, antique silver, ceramics, gold orchids, and a complete floral design library. Many of these treasures, which enhanced his own floral creations, can be seen in designs displayed by the Benz School.
These were the gifts of which he wrote in a 1972 letter to the wife of a former professor and mentor: "...to compensate in some minor way [for] the glorious life that I have had, I have willed to Texas A&M University my estate." Not only did Mr. Benz arrange legally to transfer these gifts to the University, but he also spent eight years overseeing each detail necessary to preserve his legacy properly for future generations.
In keeping with that vision and to further honor his memory, the family of M. "buddy" Benz generously established the world's only chair in floral design at Texas A&M following his death in 1980.