The Benton Murals - The New Britain Museum of American Art

The New Britain Museum of American Art has twelve galleries that showcase the Museum’s collection that spans three centuries of American art. It is the oldest museum in the country that concentrates on the collection of only American art. In one gallery you will walk through double doors into a room to view the most colorful murals painted by Thomas Hart Benton that record American Life in the 1930’s.
Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975), was born in Neosho, Missouri, and the son of a famous political family. Although attending art school in Chicago, study in Paris and New York he was drawn towards modern styles verses the routine of the academic of the old masters of European art as Modern artists were experimenting with abstraction. The turning point came in 1924 when he returned home to visit his father who was dying. The artist, after talks with his father and his father’s old political buddies wanted to reconnect with the world of his childhood. His work then focused on his own country and scenes from the American heartland and became a “Regionalist” painter. His style represents undulating forms, cartoonlike figures, and brilliant color.
In 1930 he created a set of murals “Arts of Life in America”. 1n 1934 he was featured on the cover of Time magazine. This honor had never before been awarded to an artist. This notoriety leads him to be known to the public as the leader of the “Regionalist Movement” in American art.
He taught at the Art Students League in New York, where Jackson Pollock was his best-known student. Benton died in his studio on January 6, 1975, while completing a mural intended for the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
Benton was a controversial figure in the world of mural art. In his quest to for realism he was often in conflict with the public by giving them a view of America that they may not have wanted to see. A perfect example was his infamous “Arts of Life in America” murals. They are huge wall panels and four more around the ceiling. These panels depict “real” everyday life in American at the time. Not only did it focus on music, games, dance, sports that everyone wanted to see but they focused on regional diversity, unemployment, crime, and political nonsense. The controversy was the artist poking fun at the establishment and there foolishness. Through these series of murals he indulged in his passion for politics and represented America at work and at play.
Five Panels tell story…
Arts of the City depict the city at the height of the Great Depression where prohibition and bootlegging was big business.
Arts of the West represented Benton’s rural roots and his fascination with the western frontier as a small boy.
Arts of the South came from sketches done on various car trips south from Pittsburgh to Georgia and Louisiana to New Mexico.
Indian Arts portrays Benton’s understanding of Native American culture and records the Plains Indian’s way of life which was only a memory in history.
Intellectual Business and Political Ballyhoo was directly related to Benton’s early exposure to the political life and pokes fun at all the forms of political communication.
In 1932 Benton produced this set of large murals for an early home of the Whitney Museum. As told by the docent when I toured upon completion the Museum trustees were uncomfortable with the topics displayed and tried to find any loop hole so they wouldn’t have to show the murals. The only verification I could find is in Benton’s own essay that allows us a view of the artist’s thoughts on this work at the time it was made public. He writes, “The Museum Reading room containing these murals will be open to the public during museum hours from December 6th through 13th 1932. Thereafter the murals may be seen by special appointment.” He goes on to say, “ The subject-matter of this Whitney Museum wall painting is named “The Arts of Life in America” in contrast to those specialized arts which the museum harbors and which are the outcome of special conditioning and professional direction.” According to the docent at the museum, in 1958 these murals found a new home at The New Britain Museum of American Art at the cost of $500. Today it is one of their most popular exhibits. In 2004, when the museum was doing extensive renovations they had to find a home for the murals during construction. Believe it not, the murals went back home to the Whitney during the renovations. The murals were one of the most visited exhibits while they were at The Whitney.

Submitted by Kim Zarra

Picture link:http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=4183514015/a=141417625_141417625/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hart_Benton_(painter)
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/benton/benton/
http://www.nbmaa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58&Itemid=89