Thomas Hart Benton – a failed politician who, against his father’s wishes, chose a career as an artist and lived a happy life with his beloved wife

Thomas Hart Benton (April 15, 1889 – January 19, 1975) was a famous American artist of the 20th century, one of the greatest masters of regionalism. He was best known for creating large-scale frescoes depicting scenes from the lives of ordinary Americans. The artist’s work was highly valued throughout the world, his best paintings adorn the halls of the largest museums in the United States, and the artist’s biography contains many noteworthy events.

Biography

Thomas Hart Benton was born on April 15, 1889 in the small American town of Neosho, Missouri, and was the eldest child in the family of a retired military man, an influential politician and lawyer. At the time of his son’s birth, Benton Sr. held the position of United States Attorney, and was subsequently elected as a congressman four times. In addition to Thomas, there were three more children in the family – daughters Mary and Mildred, as well as the youngest son Nathaniel.

The future artist remembered his childhood years for frequent moves from Missouri to Washington and back, depending on how the career of the head of the family developed. His father dreamed that his eldest son would also become a politician, and after graduating from school in 1905, Thomas was enrolled in the Military Academy. But the young man, who had been fond of drawing since childhood, unexpectedly resisted his parents’ will and dropped out of the prestigious institution a year later.

Returning from Europe in 1912, the young man settled in New York and began to build a professional career as an artist. It was then that the first of the surviving paintings of the aspiring artist appeared, which did not bring him fame. And at the beginning of the First World War, Thomas Benton was drafted into the army, and he served for several years at the Norfolk naval base, on the Atlantic coast of the United States.

After being discharged from the army, the young man returned to New York, where, in addition to painting, he began to earn his living by teaching at the Art Students League of New York. He soon began a love affair with one of his students, an immigrant from Italy, Rita Piacenzu, and in 1922 the couple got married. This marriage, which lasted almost 53 years, turned out to be very successful. His wife became her husband’s faithful companion and assistant in all his endeavors for life; they had two children, a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Jessie.

Benton’s professional career progressed slowly at first, since during the period of mass public fascination with modernism, his works were not in great demand. But the artist stubbornly continued to adhere to the principles of realistic art, traveling a lot around the country, making sketches and drafts for future paintings. The situation changed radically in the early 1930s, when the Great Depression hit America.

In the conditions of general confusion and chaos, the country needed new guidelines in art that would instill confidence in the future. On the wave of these expectations, a new movement emerged in the United States – regionalism, and Thomas Hart Benton became one of its key figures. In 1930-31, the artist created the famous cycle of frescoes “The Art of Living in America”, which instantly brought him wide fame. From that moment on, the master’s works began to enjoy great popularity and bring in a stable income.

Despite everything, the artist remained true to his ideals in life, he continued to create, travel around the country and teach. In the mid-1930s, Thomas settled in Kansas City, where he headed the painting department at the local Institute of Arts and enthusiastically shared his knowledge with young students. And during the Second World War, Benton actively opposed the ideology of Nazism, which he saw as a huge danger to American society.

The great master continued to create until his death, he was elected a full member of the Academy of Arts and was friends with many outstanding people, including the 33rd president of the USU, Harry S. Truman. Together with his beloved wife, he spent most of his time in a spacious mansion in Kansas City, working on paintings and receiving guests. And on January 19, 1975, Thomas Hart Benton died at a respectable age, leaving his children a decent fortune and a huge collection of his works. The house of the great artist now houses a memorial museum, which is visited annually by thousands of tourists.