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Thomas Hart Benton
I Got a Gal on Sourwood Mountain
1938

Name: I Got a Gal on Sourwood Mountain
Brand: Thomas Hart Benton
Rating: 5 (33 reviews)

About the Item

Thomas Hart Benton "I Got a Gal on Sourwood Mountain" 1938 (Fath 1979, no. 19) Lithograph in black on wove paper Signed Lower Right Image: 12 7/16 × 9 3/16 in. Sheet: 16 1/8 × 11 13/16 in. Framed: 18 1/2 x 14 1/2 in. Likely the most important painter of the American Scene* movement, Thomas Hart Benton created a style and addressed subject matter that was uniquely American as well as specific to his state of Missouri, and that combined elements of modernism and realism. His signature painting was regionalist* genre, especially laboring figures. In addition to many murals, he also painted landscapes and portraits. Benton was a highly intelligent, energetic, flamboyant, pugnacious and hard drinking fellow, who quite often found himself in the center of controversy. As a student, he was unruly and alienated many of his peers and teachers. Thomas Hart Benton was born in Neosho, Missouri, and named for a great uncle and early United States Senator. His father, Colonel M.E. Benton, was a Congressman for eight years, and during the winter, the family lived in Washington D.C. and in Neosho in the summer. At age 17, after the family had returned to Missouri, he took a summer job as cartoonist on The Joplin American. Determined to pursue his talent, he later said he had to run away from home to become an artist. In 1907-1908, he studied with Frederick Oswald at the Art Institute of Chicago* and then studied in Paris for three years including briefly at the Academie Julian* under Jean-Paul Laurens and for a longer period at the Academie Collarossi*, where he could work independently. In 1911, Colonel Benton decided he could no longer support his son in Paris, so Tom went to New York. Between 1910 and 1920, he experimented with styles of Impressionism*, Neo-Impressionism*, Post-Impressionism*, and Synchromism*, the last influenced by his friend, Stanton MacDonald-Wright. For much of this time, he was a dedicated modernist, but a fire destroyed most of the examples of his painting from this time period. "His draftsman experience in the Navy, 1918-19, led to his American Scene realist style beginning with his circa 1921 West Side Express. That recently-surfaced masterwork painted for the educator Caroline Pratt, led to many ciryscapes and the never-commissioned 17-panel mural project that he titled, The American Historical Epic (1922-27 ). He set aside the "Epic" to travel America for two years collecting drawings. He had already completed his research when Alvin Johnson commissioned his America Today murals (1930-31) for the New School for Social Research* in New York City. This ground-breaking work (now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art) earned him much respect and many important mural commissions. Its fame was key to the support of artists in the Federal Art Projects.* (McCraw) His murals at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City are major American Scene murals, and in 1957, he was commissioned by Robert Moses, chairman of the board of the Power Authority of the State of New York to paint a mural for the Power Authority at Massena.For this work at the site, he did extensive research on the theme, which was the Canadian expedition of Jacques Cartier in the mid 1500s. The early part of his career he lived in New York City where he taught at the Art Students League* and became a major influence on the style of gestural* painter, Jackson Pollock. But increasingly Benton grew to believe that art should express one's surroundings rather than abstract ideas and that the ordinary person most exemplified American life. Many of these ideas he inherited from his Populist father who served as a Congressman from Missouri from 1897 to 1905. From 1935, he established a studio in Kansas City from where he painted for the next forty years until his death at age 85. He was both a prolific lithographer, completing 80 lithographs* between 1929 and 1945, and writer including two autobiographies, An Artist in America, and An American In Art. Fellow Missourian and former United States President Harry Truman said that Benton was "the best damned painter in America."

Creator:
Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975, American)
Creation Year:
1938
Dimensions:
Height: 18.5 in (46.99 cm)Width: 14.5 in (36.83 cm)
Medium:
Paper,Lithograph
Movement & Style:
American Modern
Period:
1930-1939
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Missouri, MO
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU74735173222

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Thomas Hart Benton

Thomas Hart Benton was born in Neosho, Missouri on April 15, 1889. Even as a boy, he was no stranger to the "art of the deal" or to the smoke-filled rooms in which such deals were often consummated. His grandfather had been Missouri's first United States Senator and served in Washington for thirty years. His father, Maecenas Benton, was United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri under Cleveland and served in the United States House of Representatives during the McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt administrations. Benton's brother, Nat, was prosecutor for Greene County, Missouri, during the 1930s. As soon as he could walk, Benton traveled with his father on political tours. There he learned the arts of chewing and smoking, and while the men were involved in their heated discussions, Benton delighted in finding new cream colored wallpaper on the staircase wall, at the age of six or seven, and drew in charcoal his first mural, a long multi-car freight train. As soon as he was eighteen, even though his father wanted him to study law, Benton left for Chicago where he studied at the Art Institute during the years 1907 and 1908. He continued his studies in Paris, where he learned delicious wickedness, aesthetic and otherwise. Once back home, he became the leader of the Regionalist School, the most theatrical and gifted of the 1930s muralists and as Harry Truman described him,"the best damned painter in America." Detractors said that Benton was "a fascist, a communist, a racist and a bigot"; the ingenious structure, powerful use of modeling and scale and the high-colored humanity of the murals and easel paintings are retort enough. He was a dark, active dynamo, only 5 ft., 3 1/2 in. tall. He was outspoken, open, charmingly profane; he had a great mane of hair and a face the texture of oak bark. He wore rumpled corduroy and flannel, and walked with the unsteady swagger of a sailor just ashore. He poured a salwart drink, chewed on small black cigars and spat in the fire. Benton was once described as the "churlish dean of regionalist art." If you listened to a variety of art authorities, you would find them equally divided between Harry Truman's assessment of Benton as "the best damned painter in America" and Hilton Kramer who proclaimed Benton "a failed artist." The East Coast art establishment tended to regard Benton as memorable for one reason only: he was the teacher of Jackson Pollock. Benton was married in 1922 to Rita, a gregarious Italian lady, and they had a daughter and a son. At the height of his fame in the 1940s, Benton bungled the buy-out he was offered by Walt Disney and went his own way, completing his last mural in 1975 in acrylics the year of his death. He died in 1975.

Thomas Hart BentonFrankie and Johnnie, 1936

$12,500

H 16.5 in W 22.25 in

Frankie and Johnnie

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in New York, NY

Lithograph on wove paper, 1936. Edition of 100. Signed by the artist in pencil, lower right. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. Framed dimensions, 28.5 x 33.75 i...

Category

1930s Other Art Style Interior Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Harry SternbergTHOMAS HART BENTON, 1943

$1,500

H 18.75 in W 12.25 in

THOMAS HART BENTON

By Harry Sternberg

Located in Santa Monica, CA

HARRY STERNBERG (American, 1904-2001) THOMAS BENTON, 1943. Color screenprint on gray card stock wove paper. Edition of 30. Signed "Benton by Sternberg" in ink, by hand by the artist...

Category

1940s American Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Screen

Thomas Hart BentonINSTRUCTION, 1940

$4,500

H 10.25 in W 7 in

INSTRUCTION

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in Santa Monica, CA

THOMAS HART BENTON (1889-1975) INSTRUCTION 1940 (Fath 41) Lithograph, signed edition of 250 as published by Associated American Artists. 10 ¼” x 12 ¼”. Full margins, deckle edges....

Category

1940s American Realist Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Thomas Hart BentonForward Pass, 1972

$8,000

H 12.75 in W 19.75 in

Forward Pass

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in New York, NY

Lithograph on wove paper, 1972. Signed by the artist in pencil, lower right. Inscribed "Ed. 250" in pencil, lower left. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. Catalog...

Category

1970s American Realist More Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Thomas Hart BentonMural Study for "History of Water" American Scene Modernism Social Realism WPA, 1930

$450,000

H 28 in W 24 in

Mural Study for "History of Water" American Scene Modernism Social Realism WPA

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in New York, NY

Mural Study for "History of Water" American Scene Modernism Social Realism WPA Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975) "Water Story" (Study for The History of Water) Tempera and o...

Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Egg Tempera, Board

Thomas Hart Benton'Plowing It Under' — WPA Era American Regionalism, Signed Lithograph, 1934

$2,550

H 9.44 in W 11.88 in

'Plowing It Under' — WPA Era American Regionalism, Signed Lithograph

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in Myrtle Beach, SC

Thomas Hart Benton, 'Goin' Home', lithograph, 1937, edition 250, Fath 14. Signed in pencil. Signed in the stone, lower right. A fine, richly-inked impression, on off-white, wove pape...

Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

"FANTASY" Oil on Canvas by Thomas Hart Benton

$300,000

H 33.5 in W 25.5 in D 1.5 in

"FANTASY" Oil on Canvas by Thomas Hart Benton

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in New York, NY

"FANTASY" by Thomas Hart Benton. Oil on canvas laid on wood with a gorgeous gold gilded frame. Price upon request.

Category

Vintage 1940s American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Paint

Thomas Hart BentonThomas Hart Benton Original Lithograph, 1939 - "Shallow Creek", 1939

$4,800

H 21 in W 16 in D 0.06 in

Thomas Hart Benton Original Lithograph, 1939 - "Shallow Creek"

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in Phoenix, AZ

Original stone lithograph by well-known Regionalist Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975). Titled: "Shallow Creek.” The print has full margins and is in excellent condition. AAA print creat...

Category

1930s Landscape Prints

Materials

Paper

Thomas Hart BentonHYMN SINGER / THE MINSTREL / BURL IVES -- Large Benton, 1950

$3,500

H 15.75 in W 12 in

HYMN SINGER / THE MINSTREL / BURL IVES -- Large Benton

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in Santa Monica, CA

THOMAS HART BENTON (1890- 1975) HYMN SINGER / THE MINSTREL (Portrait of Burl Ives) 1950 (Fath 74) Lithograph signed with full signature “Thomas H. Benton” A large image, 15 ¾ x 12 i...

Category

1950s American Realist Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Thomas Hart BentonSLOW TRAIN THROUGH ARKANSAS, 1941

$7,200

H 12 in W 16 in

SLOW TRAIN THROUGH ARKANSAS

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in Portland, ME

Benton, Thomas Hart (American, 1889-1975 SLOW TRAIN THROUGH ARKANSAS. Fath . Lithograph, 1941. Edition of 250 published by Associated American Artists (A.A.A.). 9 7/8 x 12 inches (im...

Category

1940s Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

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Thomas Hart BentonThe Hymn Singer, 1950

The Hymn Singer

By Thomas Hart Benton

Located in Missouri, MO

Signed in Pencil Lower Right Ed. 500 Circulated by Twayne Publishers, New York City Image Size: 16 x 12 3/8 Framed Size: 24 1/4 x 20 1/2 inches The legendary actor actor and musici...

Category

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Gordon GrantWork and Play

Work and Play

By Gordon Grant

Located in Missouri, MO

Gordan Hope Grant (1875-1962) "Work and Play" Lithograph Signed in Pencil Lower Right Image Size: 9 x 11.5 inches Framed Size: approx 18 x 20.5 inches Born in San Francisco, Gordon Grant is known for his etchings and paintings of marine subjects. He also painted portraits, streets, harbors, beaches and marines, and was an illustrator, whose work included pulp fiction* for Popular Detective magazine in the 1930s. Skilled with watercolor, Grant was honored many times by the American Watercolor Society*. Memberships included the Society of Illustrators*, Salmagundi Club*, Allied Artists of America*, New York Society of Painters, and American Federation of Artists*. At age 13, he was sent to Scotland for schooling, and the four-month sail around Cape Horn remained a permanent influence on his career. He studied art in Heatherly and at the Lambeth School of Art* in London, and then in 1895, he became a staff artist for the San Francisco Examiner. The next year, he took the same type of job for the New York World and covered the Boer War for Harper's Weekly. He also worked for Puck magazine...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Realist Figurative Prints

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Rockwell KentHail and Farewell, 1930

Hail and Farewell

By Rockwell Kent

Located in Missouri, MO

Rockwell Kent "Hail and Farewell" 1930 Wood Engraving on Paper Signed in Pencil Lower Right Sheet Size: 14 3/8 x 11 1/4 in. Image Size: 8 x 5 1/2 in. Framed Size: 17.5 x 13.5 in. Growing up in a genteel family in New York City, Rockwell Kent was a member of the rugged realist school of landscape painters as well as a popular illustrator and printmaker. His 1930 illustrations for Moby Dick are among his most lasting achievements. He was the first American artist to have work exhibited in the Soviet Union, a reflection of his Communist Party sympathies, which earned him the Lenin Peace Prize in 1967. This espousal of radical politics caused his career to suffer badly in the '50s because his leftist views caused him disdain among many Americans. However, his work, reflecting both realism and modernism, has earned increasing attention from American art historians. His subject matter is wide-ranging including scenes of Maine's Monhegan Island, the Adirondack Mountains, book illustrations, and commercial art renderings for companies including General Electric, Rolls Royce, and Westinghouse. Although his first love was painting, in addition to illustration, he also did fabric, ceramic, and jewelry designs, and spent time as a dairy farmer, carpenter, home builder, and lobster fisherman...

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Materials

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John CostiganFodder

Fodder

By John Costigan

Located in Missouri, MO

Fodder by John Costigan (1888-1972) Signed Lower Right Titled Lower Left 9.75" x 12.75" Unframed 17.5" x 19.75" Framed John Edwards Costigan was born in Providence, Rhode Island on ...

Category

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Benton ClarkWinfield Scott Treaty, c. 1920

Winfield Scott Treaty

By Benton Clark

Located in Missouri, MO

Canvas Only Size: 24 x 36 inches Signed Lower Right Provenance: Kennedy Galleries, New York c. 1960 Illustrated: Treasures of the American West SELECTIONS FROM THE COLLECTION OF Ha...

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William Henry Dethlef KoernerReturning from the General Store

Returning from the General Store

By William Henry Dethlef Koerner

Located in Missouri, MO

Returning from the General Store William Henry Dethlef Koerner (German, American, 1878-1938) Oil on Panel Signed Lower Right 24 x 30 inches 27 x 33 inches with frame William Henry D...

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