Spring Tryout

1929–1974

92 lithographs, 1929–1974

From 1929 to 1974 Benton produces 92 lithographs in editions ranging from 2 to 500; the signed, limited-edition lithographs are sold at five dollars each through the Associated American Artists Galleries in New York.

1935–1941

Employed by: Kansas City Art Institute

1939–1944

Illustrates Twain and Steinbeck

Creates illustrations for Mark Twain's “Tom Sawyer” (1939), John Steinbeck's “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940), Twain's “Huckleberry Finn” (1941) and “Life on the Mississippi” (1944).

1942

A harmonica album for Decca Records

An accomplished harmonica player, he records the album “Saturday Night at Tom Benton's” for Decca Records.

1944

In the film series “Passing Parade”

Appears in an episode of John Nesbit's Passing Parade titled “Grandpa Called It Art”, which shows several contemporary artists at work; Benton demonstrates his process for the camera, from obtaining a farmer's permission to sketch his farm through making a three-dimensional model of the scene to the final painting.

after 1945

Regionalism falls from favor

After the war Regionalism falls from favor, eclipsed by the rise of Abstract Expressionism; Benton remains active for another 30 years, but his work contains less contemporary social commentary and portrays pre-industrial farmlands.