Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) Black and White Folio Lithograph "Jesse James"
View Similar Items
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 16
Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) Black and White Folio Lithograph "Jesse James"
About the Item
- Creator:Thomas Hart Benton (Artist)
- Dimensions:Height: 19.5 in (49.53 cm)Width: 23.75 in (60.33 cm)Depth: 0.25 in (6.35 mm)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1936
- Condition:Dimensions indicated are of the sheet. Framed dimensions: H. 27.5" W. 32.75" D. 1.5".
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: C323-151stDibs: LU855234291132
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.
About the Seller
5.0
Recognized Seller
These prestigious sellers are industry leaders and represent the highest echelon for item quality and design.
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1982
1stDibs seller since 2008
313 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
Associations
The Art and Antique Dealers League of AmericaAntiques Associations Members
More From This SellerView All
- Large Folio N. Currier Colored Lithograph "Camping Out Some of the Right Sort"By Currier & IvesLocated in San Francisco, CAA large folio hand colored lithograph by Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888) and James Merritt Ives (1824-1895) titled "Camping Out Some of the Right Sort" published by Currier and Ives, New York, 1856. A charming and evocative composition depicting a group of mid-19th century men...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century American Victorian Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Framed Folio Size Colored Lithograph by N.Currier Titled "Arguing the Point"Located in San Francisco, CAAn evocative hand colored lithograph by N. Currier (American 1813-1888), after a painting by A.F.Tait, titled "Arguing the Point", depicting a group of rural men engaged in an appare...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century American Victorian Prints
MaterialsPaper
- John James Audubon Chromolithograph Crested Grebe Plate 389 by J.Bien N.Y. 1860By John James AudubonLocated in San Francisco, CAThe John James Audubon double elephant folio chromolithograph Plate 389 No. 6-4 Crested Grebe from Birds of America. Podiceps Cristatus. Adult ...Category
Antique 1860s American Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Hand Colored Wood Engraving of Princeton University in Period Maple FrameLocated in San Francisco, CAAn mid-19th century colored wood engraving titled "View of the New Jersey College at Princeton New Jersey" depicting Nassau Hall in what is now Princeton University. This lovely hand colored rendition shows several walking women and a man aboard a horse, the background dominated by historic Nassau Hall, the largest academic building in the United States at the time, completed in 1756. It was here in 1783 that George Washington received formal thanks from the U.S. Congress for his efforts during the Revolutionary War...Category
Antique Mid-19th Century American Victorian Prints
MaterialsMaple, Paper
- Original Piranesi Framed Engraving of a Monument in the Form of a CornucopiaBy Giovanni Battista PiranesiLocated in San Francisco, CAGiovanni Battista Piranesi, Italian 1720-1778) Engraving on wove paper depicting an ancient Roman funeral monument in the form of a cornucopia from the Via...Category
Antique Early 19th Century French Neoclassical Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Early Nineteenth Century Colored Etching of a Wall in PompeiiLocated in San Francisco, CAA framed architectural engraving of a wall in Pompeii titled "In Casa Pseudourbana Di Pompei piano superiore Parete corta dell'antistuf...Category
Antique Early 19th Century Italian Neoclassical Prints
MaterialsPaper
You May Also Like
- Thomas Hart Benton Original Lithograph, 1939 - "Cradling Wheat"By Thomas Hart BentonLocated in Phoenix, AZOriginal stone lithograph created 1939 by well-known Regionalist Thomas Hart Benton. The print is in fine condition with full margins and pencil signed lower right. Also signed in the stone lower left. Fath #27. Image size: 9 1/2"h x 12"w. Title: “Cradling Wheat...Category
20th Century Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Thomas Hart Benton Original Lithograph, 1939 - "Shallow Creek"By Thomas Hart BentonLocated in Phoenix, AZOriginal 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
Vintage 1930s Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Thomas Hart Benton Original Lithograph, 1934 Plowing it UnderBy Thomas Hart BentonLocated in Phoenix, AZThomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) Original stone lithograph. Title: Plowing it Under (also Ploughing), 1934. Unframed and presents in a 4 ply museum mat. Image size: 8"h x 13 3/8"w. Mat size: 16 x 20. In excellent condition with full margins and deckle edges. Pencil signed by the artist lower right, "Benton." Fath #8, p. 36. Issued by Associated American Artists, New York in 1934 as an edition of 250. Thomas Hart Benton described this image in the Fath book, “Drawing made (for this print) in South Carolina in 1934 - showing Tugwell’s program in operation.” This was his first lithograph to be circulated by Associated American Artists, New York City, under the title “Ploughing.” A painting was also done in 1934 of the same title. As part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1933, some crops were instructed to be ‘plowed under’ to limit supplies and raise prices. The Chicago Tribune derided Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace...Category
Mid-20th Century Prints
MaterialsPaper
- Thomas Hart Benton Original Lithograph, 1944 - Wreck of the Ol’ ‘97By Thomas Hart BentonLocated in Phoenix, AZOriginal stone lithograph created 1944 by well-known Regionalist Thomas Hart Benton. The print is in excellent condition with full margins and pencil signed lower right. Also signed in the stone. It is matted in a 4-ply archival mat and rests in a simple black frame. Image size: 10 ½ x 15. Frame size: 18 x 23. Published by AAA. Ed: 250. Thomas Hart Benton found inspiration for his art in the ebb and flow of daily life in rural and small-town America. Wreck of the Ol’ 97, one of his best-known prints, is based on a ballad of the same title that tells the story of a rail disaster. A speeding locomotive attempting to make up lost time jumped the tracks as it descended a Virginia mountain...Category
Mid-20th Century Prints
MaterialsPaper
- "FANTASY" Oil on Canvas by Thomas Hart BentonBy Thomas Hart BentonLocated 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
MaterialsCanvas, Paint
- Thomas Holloway, Unusual Folio Engraving of Young ChildrenLocated in Norwich, GBHolloway, Thomas, 1748-1827 Holloway was apprenticed to a seal engraver named Stent at a young age. He went on to study engraving at the Royal Academy beginning in 1773. He became...Category
Antique 1790s English Georgian Prints
MaterialsPaper
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
The Mural Source
Midcentury Modern Dining Chairs 6
Table Base For Game Table
Bronze Mid Century Modern Lamps
1950s Decor
Chase By Hand
Two Level Side
Vintage Model T
Vintage Oak Dining Chairs Chairs
Vintage Oak Dining Chair
Vintage Oak Dining Chairs Furniture
Art Nouveau Italian Chairs
Midcentury Plinth
Paper Lamp Table
Modern Orange Vase
Vintage Oak Bedroom Furniture
Vintage Sky Background
Modern Dining Curve Back