Benton, Thomas Hart (1889-1975), was an American painter. With artists John Steuart Curry and Grant Wood, he developed and promoted a style of American art called regionalism. The style emerged in the 1920’s and continued through the early 1940’s.
Benton urged American artists to paint in a style free of foreign influences. He wanted American art to be democratic, portraying scenes from the daily life of ordinary people in a direct and easily understood style. Benton took most of his subjects from the Midwest, where he lived. He painted both the difficulties and pleasures of being a farmer, railroad worker, miner, saloonkeeper, or politician. He also created scenes of family life. Benton became nationally known and also painted works in and about Hollywood and New York City.
Benton’s distinctive style emphasizes sculptural, somewhat elongated and stylized forms with strong contours and colors. He combined these elements into powerful, rhythmic compositions that he believed expressed the vitality of American life. Several of Benton’s series of paintings and murals deal with American history and folklore. His America Today (1930-1931) in New York City helped revive mural painting in the United States.
Benton was born on April 15, 1889, in Neosho, Missouri. As a young man, he experimented with modern art styles in Paris. By the mid-1920’s, after returning to the United States, he had rejected modern painting as being too theoretical and unrelated to American life. He died on Jan. 19, 1975.
