Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 3

Thomas Hart Benton
'Plowing It Under' — WPA Era American Regionalism

1934

$2,550
£1,970.32
€2,277.87
CA$3,603.33
A$4,041.38
CHF 2,116.41
MX$49,106.70
NOK 26,874.83
SEK 25,479.23
DKK 17,003.13

About the Item

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 paper, with margins, in excellent condition. Published by Associated American Artists. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Image size 9 7/16 x 11 7/8 inches; sheet size 10 3/4 x 13 5/16 inches. ABOUT THIS WORK This work, the first lithograph by Benton published by Associated American Artists under the title 'Plowing', is based on a drawing created by Benton in South Carolina in 1934. Benton's intended title was 'Plowing It Under', referencing a federal Agricultural Adjustment Administration's program passed in the spring of 1933. The program, one of the major legislative initiatives of Franklin D. Roosevelt's early presidency, supported subsidies for acreage formerly dedicated to cultivation to be plowed under, thereby reducing overproduction and raising farm produce prices. Benton's image refers to a portion of that year's cotton crop, already planted, that was plowed under. The program proved controversial, even among those farmers who woiuld have been its intended beneficiaries. Impressions of this work are held in the following museum collections: Albany Institute of History and Art, Crystal Bridges of American Art, Currier Museum of Art Collections, Gibbes Museum of Art, High Museum of Art, Iowa State University, National Gallery of Art, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. ABOUT THE ARTIST Born in 1889 in Neosho, Missouri, Thomas Hart Benton spent much of his childhood and adolescence in Washington, D.C., where his lawyer father, Maecenas Eason Benton, served as a Democratic member of Congress from 1897 to 1905. Hoping to groom him for a political career, Benton’s father sent him to Western Military Academy. After nearly two years at the academy, Benton convinced his mother to support him through two years at the Art Institute of Chicago, followed by two more years at the Academie Julian in Paris. Benton returned to America in 1912 and moved to New York to pursue his artistic career. One of his first jobs was painting sets for silent movies, which were being produced in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Benton credits this experience with giving him the skills he needed to make his large-scale murals. When World War I broke out, Benton joined the Navy. Stationed in Norfolk, Virginia, he was assigned to create drawings of the camouflaged ships arriving at Norfolk Naval Station. The renderings were used to identify vessels should they be lost in battle. Benton credited his experience as a ‘camofleur’ as having a profound impact on his career. “When I came out of the Navy after the First World War,” he said, “I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to be just a studio painter, a pattern maker in the fashion then dominating the art world–as it still does. I began to think of returning to the painting of subjects, subjects with meanings, which people, in general, might be interested in.” While developing his ‘regionalist’ vision, Benton also taught art, first at a city-supported school and then at The Art Students League (1926–1935). One of his students was a young Jackson Pollock, who looked upon Benton as a mentor and a father figure. In 1930, Benton was commissioned to paint a mural for the New School for Social Research. The ‘America Today’ mural, now on permanent exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, was followed by many more commissions as Benton’s work gained acclaim. The Regionalist Movement gained popularity during the Great Depression of the 1930s. Painters, including Benton, Grant Wood, and John Steuart Curry, rejected modernist European influences, preferring to depict realistic images of small-town and rural life—reassuring images of the American heartland during a period of upheaval. Time Magazine called Benton 'the most virile of U.S. painters of the U.S. Scene,' featuring his self-portrait on the cover of a 1934 issue that included a story about 'The Birth of Regionalism.' In 1935, Benton left New York and moved back to Missouri, where he taught at the Kansas City Art Institute. Benton’s outspoken criticism of modern art, art critics, and political views alienated him from many influencers in political and art scenes. While remaining true to his beliefs, Benton continued to create in murals, paintings, and prints some of the most enduring images of American life. The dramatic and engaging qualities of Benton’s paintings and murals attracted the attention of Hollywood producers. He was hired to create illustrations and posters for films, including his famous lithographs for the film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s ‘Grapes of Wrath’ produced by Twentieth Century Fox. Benton’s work can be found at the Art Institute of Chicago, High Museum of Art, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Library of Congress, McNay Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, National Gallery of Art, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, The Truman Library and many other museums and galleries across the US. He was elected to the National Academy of Design, has illustrated many books, authored his autobiography, and is the subject of ‘Thomas Hart Benton,’ a documentary by Ken Burns.
  • Creator:
    Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1934
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 9.44 in (23.98 cm)Width: 11.88 in (30.18 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Myrtle Beach, SC
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 1040881stDibs: LU532316144512

More From This Seller

View All
'Pipe and Brawn' — WPA Era American Realism
By James Allen
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
James Allen, 'Pipe and Brawn,' 1937, lithograph, edition 40. Signed and annotated 'Ed/40' in pencil. A superb, richly inked impression on cream wove paper, the full sheet with margin...
Category

1930s American Realist Figurative Prints

Materials

Lithograph

'Navajo Horse Race' — Southwest Regionalism, American Indian
By Ira Moskowitz
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Ira Moskowitz, 'Navajo Horse Race', lithograph, 1946, edition 30, Czestochowski 204. Signed and titled in pencil. Signed and dated in the stone, lower le...
Category

1940s American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

'Partners' — Mid-Century Modernist Regionalism
By Dale Nichols
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Dale Nichols, 'Partners', lithograph, edition 250, 1950. Signed in pencil. A fine, richly-inked impression, on cream wove paper; the full sheet with margins (7/8 to 1 5/8 inches); tw...
Category

1950s American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

'Tenant Farmers' — Depression Era, WPA
By Lou Barlow
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
Lou Barlow (Louis Breslow), 'Tenant Farmers', color wood engraving, 1936, edition 25. Signed, titled, and numbered '15/25' in pencil. A superb, richly-inked impression, with fresh c...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut

'Lot Cleaning, Los Angeles' — 1930s Modernism
By Paul Landacre
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
'Lot Cleaning, Los Angeles', wood engraving, edition 60, Zeitlin & Ver Brugge 69. Signed, titled and numbered '51/60' in pencil. A brilliant, black impression, on Kitakata Japan pape...
Category

1930s American Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Woodcut

New Year’s Eve and Adam
By John Sloan
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
John Sloan, 'New Year's Eve and Adam', etching, 1918, edition 100, (only 85 printed), Morse 190. Signed, titled and annotated '100 proofs' in pencil. Signed and dated in the plate, l...
Category

1910s Ashcan School Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

You May Also Like

PLOUGHING IT UNDER
By Thomas Hart Benton
Located in Santa Monica, CA
THOMAS HART BENTON (1889-1975) PLOUGHING IT UNDER (aka Ploughing) 1934 (Fath 8) Original lithograph, signed in pencil. Edition of 250 as published by Associated American Artists (AA...
Category

1930s American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

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

"White Calf, " Farm Genre Scene Original Lithograph by Thomas Hart Benton
By Thomas Hart Benton
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"White Calf" is an original lithograph print by Thomas Hart benton. It features the image of a man milking a cow while her calf lays down in front. Benton's breathtaking way of rende...
Category

1940s American Modern Animal Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Prodigal Son
By Thomas Hart Benton
Located in London, GB
A man raises his hand to his chin, his neck tilted and face turned to look at a dilapidated farmhouse, barely held together by planks of wood and exposed to the elements. Behind him ...
Category

1930s American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

Nebraska Evening
By Thomas Hart Benton
Located in London, GB
A fine impression with good margins published by Associated American Artists.
Category

1940s American Modern Landscape Prints

Materials

Lithograph

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