Archives of American Art

Oral history interview with Thomas Hart Benton

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.benton73
Creators:
Benton, Thomas Hart, 1889-1975
Cummings, Paul
Dates:
1973 July 23-24
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
68 Pages
Transcript
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Interview of Thomas Hart Benton conducted 1973 July 23-24, by Paul Cummings, for the Archives of American Art. Benton speaks of his childhood in Missouri and Washington, D.C., working as a newspaper cartoonist, and classes at the Chicago Art Institute (1907-1908) and the Academie Julian in Paris (1908). He discusses the New York art world, painting scenes for silent movies, the "Stieglitz Society," the synchromist and regionalist movements, John Weichsel and the People's Art Guild, teaching at the Art Students League and the Kansas City Art Institute, murals and mural techniques, lithographic illustrations, drawings, and World War II propaganda posters. He recalls Thomas Craven, Rex Ingram, Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Jackson Pollock, Alma Reed, Boardman Robinson, and others.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) was a painter and mural painter.

Administration

Sponsor
Funding for this interview was provided by the Wyeth Endowment for American Art.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These interviews are part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
ACCESS RESTRICTED; written permission required.

More Information

General

General
Originally recorded on 2 sound tape reels. Reformatted in 2010 as 4 digital wav files. Duration is 3 hr., 46 min.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Mural painting and decoration -- 20th century Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Regionalism Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Synchromism (Art) Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Muralists -- Interviews Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Interviews Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sound recordings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Interviews Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Craven, Thomas, b. 1889 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Ingram, Rex, 1895-1969 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Macdonald-Wright, Stanton, 1890-1973 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Pollock, Jackson, 1912-1956 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reed, Alma M. Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Robinson, Boardman, 1876-1952 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stieglitz, Alfred, 1864-1946 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Weichsel, John, 1870-1946 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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