Thomas Hart Benton, Ozarker
December 3, 2011 9:09 AM Subscribe
In From the Ozarks and Beyond (Part I), One of the Missouri Ozarks' greatest artists, Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975), is discussed with regard to how the Ozarks influenced him and how he has influenced the Ozarks. (Part II, Part III).
... he would prefer his paintings to be displayed in "saloons and bawdy houses…even women’s clubs" to museums.
Oh, so that's why his murals are in the Missouri State Capitol.
posted by zsazsa at 10:27 AM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, so that's why his murals are in the Missouri State Capitol.
posted by zsazsa at 10:27 AM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Won't get any argument from me.
(Slightly unrelated, but Kansas's state capitol has a few pretty dope murals as well)
posted by dismas at 10:54 AM on December 3, 2011
(Slightly unrelated, but Kansas's state capitol has a few pretty dope murals as well)
posted by dismas at 10:54 AM on December 3, 2011
Interesting find. Grant Wood, Benton, and John Steuart Curry were the Regionalists of note from that period. They wanted to represent the working class and the region they were a part of (hey, hence the name) and were influenced by the murals of Diego Rivera.
Except, at least in the case of Curry (and I'm pretty sure the others), the Kansans he wanted to represent not only were embarrassed by the John Brown mural that dismas linked, but thought he was an effete snob who although he was from Kansas, didn't even know how a cow stands when grazing. Truth is, he and the rest were kinda effete snobs. Anyway, Curry never signed his murals in the Kansas state capitol.
I always envisioned an epic battle between Benton and Rivera over socialist values. I may have done this for so long it's edged into a "truth" for me, but I can't find anything about it online. Oh well. Thanks for the post, Atreides.
posted by sleepy pete at 12:06 PM on December 3, 2011
Except, at least in the case of Curry (and I'm pretty sure the others), the Kansans he wanted to represent not only were embarrassed by the John Brown mural that dismas linked, but thought he was an effete snob who although he was from Kansas, didn't even know how a cow stands when grazing. Truth is, he and the rest were kinda effete snobs. Anyway, Curry never signed his murals in the Kansas state capitol.
I always envisioned an epic battle between Benton and Rivera over socialist values. I may have done this for so long it's edged into a "truth" for me, but I can't find anything about it online. Oh well. Thanks for the post, Atreides.
posted by sleepy pete at 12:06 PM on December 3, 2011
I love my Thomas Hart Benton! His mural in the Capitol building was quite disliked when it was unveiled because of a depiction of a baby who is getting its diaper changed. His response? "Every politician has to be a baby first."
posted by psylosyren at 12:07 PM on December 3, 2011
posted by psylosyren at 12:07 PM on December 3, 2011
His mural in the Capitol building was quite disliked when it was unveiled because of a depiction of a baby who is getting its diaper changed.
That, and his depiction of the members of the legislature drinking and watching dancing girls while a political boss (Tom Pendergast) stuffs bribes into their pockets.
If any of you have the chance, do visit these murals at the capitol building in Jefferson City--they are as great an example of public-funded public art as you will ever see.
posted by LarryC at 3:42 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
That, and his depiction of the members of the legislature drinking and watching dancing girls while a political boss (Tom Pendergast) stuffs bribes into their pockets.
If any of you have the chance, do visit these murals at the capitol building in Jefferson City--they are as great an example of public-funded public art as you will ever see.
posted by LarryC at 3:42 PM on December 3, 2011 [1 favorite]
Thomas Hart Benton. George Caleb Bingham. Missouri doesn't have too many famous painters, so when we get one, we like to use all three names...
posted by tss at 7:17 PM on December 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by tss at 7:17 PM on December 3, 2011 [2 favorites]
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Benton'd been a teacher at the Kansas City Art Institute but was fired in 1941 for declaring that he would prefer his paintings to be displayed in "saloons and bawdy houses…even women’s clubs" to museums. (source)
Thanks for this post!
posted by dismas at 10:15 AM on December 3, 2011