Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)

A Fire in the Barn

Details

Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)
A Fire in the Barn
signed 'Benton' lower left--signed and inscribed 'Tom H. Benton. To Efrem Kurtz for his 1945 birthday from The Bentons because he's a fine musician and an equally fine fellow' on a note attached to the reverse
oil on board
5 1/4 x 9in. (13.5 x 22.8cm.)

Literature

M. Baigell, Thomas Hart Benton, New York, 1973, p. 207, no. 159 illus.

Lot Essay

After studying with the abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock, Thomas Hart Benton began to paint pictures which were distinctly American. Concerned with the landscape, society and politics of America, A Fire in the Barn is a quintessential example of the artist's work. This picture is a study for a larger work entitled Fire in the Barnyard, 1944 (private collection). Benton also made a lithograph of this image the same year.