Thomas Hart Benton: An American Original

Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism

Thomas Hart Benton: An American Original Details

From Publishers Weekly Benton (1889-1975) is a painter shrouded in paradox and misapprehension. Though pigeonholed as a regionalist chronicler of the Midwest, many of his finest on-site pictures are of Southern blacks and poor whites. Remembered best are his folksy rural scenes and aggressively three-dimensional murals, but the public tends to forget that he ran through the gamut of modernist styles (he was Jackson Pollock's teacher) and that his brilliant abstract color experiments ally him with the modernist movement. Some of Benton's crowded murals of the 1930s reflect his leftist sympathies, yet critics reviled him as politically conservative. These contradictions are illuminated in this catalogue of a touring exhibition curated by Adams. The text stands on its own as a wholly engaging biography, offering an unbuttoned look at a pugnacious, often reckless, artist who valiantly sought to preserve a rural America that was vanishing before his eyes. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From Library Journal Noted muralist, regionalist painter, art theorist, instructor of Jackson Pollock, and controversial figure in the world of art and politics, Benton (1889-1975) has received relatively little attention from art historians. In overall format and tone, this chatty, gossipy biography is aimed at a popular audience. Yet it also contains academic discussions of both abstract and realist art, and nearly half the 340 illustrations are handsome color plates. The catalog for a traveling retrospective exhibition and a PBS documentary, this book is oddly satisfying; for public, and some art, libraries.- Kathleen Eagen Johnson, Historic Hudson Valley, Tarrytown, N.Y.Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more

Reviews

The eponymous book on Thomas Hart Beneton is an excellent and indeed exhaustive introduction to the famous regionalist artist. With Grant Wood, Benton was especially active in the middle of the 20th century, creating a uniquely American style of art that tried to personify midwest simplicity while subtly critiquing some of the more absurd aspects of the national tradition. Benton's use of composition and color captured a key moment in the American experience and would help shape the views of Jackson Pollock, among others.This book covers all this ground in a generally readable biographical approach, examining Benton's life, work, and relationships. Along the way, it reproduces hundreds of paintings and sketches, the majority of which are in full color. Instead of plates, many of these artworks are reproduced in the text, doing an excellent job of illustrating the author's narrative but likely upsetting those art purists who would prefer full-page reproductions in plate form. As you would expect of a book of this type, it also usefully contrasts Benton's evolving style with example paintings from others including Wood and a young Pollack. Perhaps most importantly, the book reproduces all (to my knowledge) of his commissioned murals from the middle of the century. Though they are rather small here and can be found in better detail in other studies specifically on the individual series, I found them to be fine given the better contextualization of the works within the artist's longer development. Indeed, my only criticism of this excellent book is that the author is sometimes too biographical in his approach, lacking in incisive art criticism in favor of a chronological tracking of the artist's movements and living situation. This can feel a bit dry and sometimes minimizes the power of the art itself. Overall, highly recommended.

Share this post