Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) Manner of: Chopping Cotton. Oil on board, signed lower right. There are scribbled notes and a portrait sketch, in pencil, of a farmer verso. Unframed.

Thomas Hart Benton is one of the preeminent pre-war regionalist painters known for depicting the culture and inhabitants of the Midwest, particularly his home state of Missouri. Predominantly known for his murals, he was able to make a name for himself by rejecting the art world and creating art that explicitly protested the Ku Klux Klan and fascism, among other things. Between 1926 and 1941, Benton held teaching positions at the Art Students League in New York, where he taught young artists like Jackson Pollock and Glen Rounds, and the Kansas City Art Institute.

18.5 x 25 inches.

Private collection, United States

Fair condition with a noticeable amount of surface grime, the board is very wavy, moisture stain verso.