Thomas Hart Benton (1988) - full transcript

TOM BENTON WAS A SMALL MAN

WITH THE VIVACITY
AND THE PUGNACIOUSNESS

OF A BANTAM ROOSTER.

HE MADE GREAT USE OF THAT
WONDERFUL MOUSTACHE OF HIS

VERY SPARKLING EYES

NEVER SAW HIM AT A LOSS
FOR A WORD.

HE HAD A GREAT PERSONA
OF THE HARD-DRINKING TOUGH GUY

WHO HAPPENED TO BE
AN ARTIST, YOU KNOW?

HIS PRIDE WAS TO BE ABLE
TO DRINK WITH ANYBODY

AND FIGHT WITH ANYBODY AND FUCK
WITH ANYBODY, AND SO FORTH.

REAL HE-MAN.



THE SHEER PERVERSITY
OF TOM BENTON

IN TERMS OF HIS OWN CULTURE
IS PRETTY WONDERFUL.

THE FACT THAT HE LIKES
TO PUT PEOPLE ON;

THE FACT THAT HE LIKES TO BE
AN OUTRAGEOUS OLD CUSS;

THAT HE LIKES TO RUB
THEIR NOSE IN BARROOM NUDES;

THE FACT THAT HE LIKES
TO CHALLENGE

THE MORALITY OF HIS OWN PERIOD

IS A LOT OF FUN.

TOM BENTON LOOKED AT AMERICA
LIKE NOBODY DID.

HE KNEW WHERE AMERICA WAS
AND HE KNEW WHAT AMERICA WAS

BECAUSE HE WENT OUT
AND MIXED WITH THE PEOPLE

SLEPT WITH THE PEOPLE,
ATE WITH THE PEOPLE

DREW THE PEOPLE,
WON THEIR CONFIDENCE

AND HE DIDN'T GIVE A DAMN
ABOUT HIGH SOCIETY.



NOW, THAT IRRITATED
A LOT OF PEOPLE.

25 YEARS AGO ONE NEVER DREAMED

THERE WOULD BE
A REVIVAL OF BENTON.

ALL OF THAT-- THE WHOLE
ATTITUDE TOWARD ART

THAT'S EMBODIED IN HIS WORK,
EMBODIED IN HIS WRITING

EMBODIED IN HIS CAREER

SEEMED SAFELY DEAD.

HE'S LOVED AS A PERSON
AND HE'S HATED AS A PERSON

AND THEN THEY TRANSFER THIS
OVER TO HIS PAINTING.

THOSE WHO LOVE HIM,
LOVE HIS PAINTING--

AND THEY KNOW NOTHING
ABOUT ART USUALLY.

AND THOSE WHO HATE HIM
ARE THE PEOPLE IN THE PROFESSION

BECAUSE HE'S MADE COMMENTS,
PUBLIC COMMENTS

STATEMENTS ABOUT THEM.

SO THEY HATE THE MAN.

THEREFORE THEY WON'T LOOK AT HIS
WORK AND THEY HATE HIS WORK.

IT'S UNFORTUNATE.

Narrator:
HE WAS A POLITICIAN'S SON
WHO SCORNED POLITICS

YET STRUGGLED ALL HIS LIFE
TO BECOME A PUBLIC FIGURE.

HE WAS A SOPHISTICATE
WHO PRETENDED TO BE SIMPLE;

A REBEL WHO FLED
FROM HIS MIDWESTERN PAST

AND THEN CAME
TO CELEBRATE IT IN HIS ART.

HE SHOWED HOW AN AMERICAN
ARTIST COULD SUCCEED

AND HOW HE COULD FAIL.

HIS PAINTINGS HANG IN MUSEUMS

BUT HIS FRIENDS STILL CELEBRATE
HIS BIRTHDAY EACH YEAR

IN A KANSAS CITY SALOON.

THOMAS HART BENTON, WHO
WILL BE 70 NEXT WEDNESDAY

HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS AMERICA'S
BEST-KNOWN CONTEMPORARY PAINTER

WHO VIEWS HIS SUBJECT

THROUGH THE EYES
OF A SOCIAL HISTORIAN.

HE'S ALSO BEEN REFERRED TO

AS RUGGED, OUTSPOKEN
AND UNCONVENTIONAL.

MR. AND MRS. THOMAS HART BENTON

LIVE IN THIS LARGE,
NATIVE-STONE HOUSE

IN THE SOUTHWEST SECTION
OF KANSAS CITY.

GOOD EVENING, TOM.

GOOD EVENING, ED.

HOW ARE YOU?

PRETTY GOOD.

WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER MOST

ABOUT YOUR BOYHOOD
IN NEOSHO, MISSOURI?

SHOWS IN THE BARN,
SWIMMING IN THE CREEKS

RIDING HORSES, AND SO FORTH.

WELL, IT WAS KIND OF
A COUNTRY JAKE'S LIFE.

IT WAS EXTREMELY ENTERTAINING.

YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER IT
WITH SOME REGRETS.

MAYBE THE PROGRESS WE'VE HAD
HAS WIPED ALL THAT OUT

AND OTHER PEOPLE WON'T
HAVE THE CHANCE TO REGRET IT

BUT I REMEMBER IT, ANYHOW,
WITH A PLEASURABLE REGRET.

Narrator:
HE WAS BORN IN NEOSHO,
MISSOURI, IN 1889

THE FIRST AND SHORTEST
OF FOUR CHILDREN

AND WAS NAMED
FOR HIS GREAT-UNCLE

SENATOR THOMAS HART BENTON.

HE WAS THE CHAMPION
OF MANIFEST DESTINY

MISSOURI'S FIRST SENATOR,
A MAN WHO STOOD SIX FEET FOUR

AND WHO WOUNDED ANDREW JACKSON
IN A DUEL.

IT WAS A BIG NAME TO LIVE UP TO.

TOM WAS VERY PUGNACIOUS,
EVEN AS A YOUNG PERSON.

HE WAS VERY SURE
THAT HE WAS ALWAYS RIGHT

AND HE WAS VERY TALKATIVE,
AND AT MEALS

MY FATHER WOULD SOMETIMES
SEND HIM AWAY FROM THE TABLE

BECAUSE HE INSISTED
ON WHAT "I" THINK

AND WHAT "I" DO
AND WHAT "I" WILL DO

AND IT WAS ALWAYS,
AS MY FATHER SAID, "I, I, I."

AND MY FATHER
CALLED HIM "BIG I."

Narrator:
HIS FATHER,
COLONEL MAECENAS BENTON

WAS A COMBATIVE,
HARD-DRINKING POLITICIAN

WHO WAS FOUR TIMES
ELECTED TO CONGRESS

AS "THE LITTLE GIANT
OF THE OZARKS."

T.H. Benton:
MY FATHER WAS A POLITICAL FIGURE
IN THE STATE

AND WHEN I WAS A KID
HE USED TO TAKE ME

ON HIS VARIOUS CAMPAIGNING TRIPS

WHETHER HE WAS CAMPAIGNING
FOR HIMSELF

OR FOR SOME OTHER CANDIDATE,
I WOULD GO.

AND I GOT ACQUAINTED VERY EARLY

WITH THE FLAMBOYANT EARLY
POLITICAL LIFE OF MISSOURI.

Narrator:
BENTON'S MOTHER, ELIZABETH

WAS 19 YEARS YOUNGER
THAN HIS FATHER

A BEAUTIFUL, PIOUS,
HIGH-STRUNG TEXAN

WITH ARTISTIC ASPIRATIONS
WHO LOVED WASHINGTON SOCIETY

AND DESPISED HER HUSBAND'S
MISSOURI CONSTITUENTS.

Woman:
HIS FATHER AND MOTHER
WERE TOTALLY INCOMPATIBLE

AND THEY HAD IRRECONCILABLE
DIFFERENCES ALL THE TIME.

AND IT ALMOST SEEMS AS THOUGH
TOM'S MOTHER WOULD SIDE WITH HIM

AGAINST HIS FATHER,
JUST TO SPITE THE FATHER.

Narrator:
FROM THE FIRST, TOM LOVED
TO DRAW-- RUSHING TRAINS

INDIANS IN WAR PAINT.

CUSTER'S LAST STAND
WAS A FAVORITE SUBJECT

COPIED FROM A PRINT GLIMPSED
THROUGH THE SWINGING DOORS

OF A MAIN STREET SALOON.

HIS MOTHER ENCOURAGED HIS ART,
HIS FATHER DID NOT.

HE WAS DETERMINED THAT HIS SON
WOULD BECOME A LAWYER

AND A POLITICIAN.

"THAT I SHOULD EVEN THINK
OF BECOMING AN ARTIST

GAVE HIM A SENSE OF OUTRAGE,"
TOM REMEMBERED.

IT WOULD NEVER DO FOR A BENTON
TO DESCEND SO LOW.

Small:
HE STRUGGLED AGAINST
OUR FATHER ALL THE TIME.

HE WASN'T STRUGGLING AGAINST
ANYBODY ELSE IN THE HOUSE.

OUR FATHER HAD IDEAS ABOUT
WHAT HE WAS TO DO IN THE WORLD

AND THEY WERE NOT TOM'S IDEAS.

Narrator:
AT 17 TOM LEFT HOME
AND GOT A JOB AS A CARTOONIST

LAMPOONING LOCAL CITIZENS
FOR THE JOPLIN AMERICAN.

Man:
ONE NIGHT HE WAS SEATED
IN A SALOON

LOOKING UP AT THE BAR.

BEHIND THE BAR
AT THE HOUSE FLOOR SALOON

THERE WAS THIS HUGE NAKED WOMAN
IN THE PAINTING

AND THE OLDER MEN STARTED
KIDDING HIM.

THEY SAID, "SHORTY, WHAT ARE YOU
STARING AT THAT PAINTING FOR?"

IMPLYING THAT HE WAS STARING
AT THE NAKED WOMAN.

AND HE GOT VERY EMBARRASSED

AND HE SAID HE WAS AN ARTIST,
AND HE WAS JUST STUDYING

THE ARTISTIC PROPORTIONS
OF THE PAINTING.

T.H. Benton:
THE FELLOWS STARTED KIDDING ME,
AND I TOLD THEM I WAS AN ARTIST

AND TO PROVE IT, THEY KNEW

THAT THEY NEEDED
A DRAFTSMAN ON THE PAPER.

SO THEY TOOK ME DOWN THERE
AND I GOT THE JOB.

I WAS 17 YEARS OLD.

I GOT $14 A WEEK;
THAT WAS A BIG SALARY.

SO I THOUGHT THAT I BETTER STAY
WITH THE ARTS AND MAKE MONEY.

THAT WAS ABOUT THE LAST MONEY
I MADE FOR 20 YEARS.

Narrator:
HE NOW DEMANDED
TO GO TO ART SCHOOL

BUT HIS FATHER PACKED HIM OFF
TO A MILITARY ACADEMY INSTEAD

SURE IT WOULD DRIVE
THE ART OUT OF HIM.

IT DID NOT.

HE DID WELL AT ENGLISH
AND FOOTBALL

AND SENT DOZENS
OF ILLUSTRATED LETTERS HOME.

BUT HE PILED UP DEMERITS,
FAILED AT MATHEMATICS

AND WAS ENCOURAGED
TO GO ELSEWHERE.

FINALLY THE COLONEL GAVE IN

AND TOM ENTERED THE PRESTIGIOUS
CHICAGO ART INSTITUTE.

HE MADE A NOISY IMPRESSION.

HE REFUSED TO DRAW PLASTER CASTS

ELBOWED HIS WAY INTO CLASSES
RESERVED FOR OLDER STUDENTS

AND ASSURED A FRIEND THAT
HIS PAINTINGS WOULD ONE DAY BE

AS IMPORTANT
AS THE FUNNY PAPERS.

WHEN AN OLDER STUDENT
TEASED HIM ABOUT HIS SIZE

HE PUSHED HIM DOWN A COAL CHUTE.

"I BECOME MORE
AND MORE CONSCIOUS"

TOM WROTE TO HIS MOTHER
FROM CHICAGO, "THAT IN ME LIES

"SOME UNEXPLAINABLE POWER,
WHICH SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE

"I WILL BE ABLE TO UNCHAIN

"AND WHICH WILL MAKE ME RISE

FAR ABOVE THE LEVEL
OF THE ORDINARY MORTAL."

HIS TEACHERS AGREED

AND URGED HIS PARENTS
TO SEND HIM TO PARIS TO STUDY.

IT WAS 1908.

PARIS WAS THE HOME OF PICASSO,
BRAQUE, MATISSE-- ALL YOUNG MEN

AND REVOLUTIONIZING
THE WAY ARTISTS SAW THE WORLD.

"MY GENIUS NOTIONS WERE
DISPELLED IN A HURRY"

BENTON REMEMBERED.

"THE QUARTER WAS OVERRUN
WITH GENIUSES.

"I WAS MERELY A ROUGHNECK
WITH A TALENT FOR FIGHTING

BUT NOT FOR PAINTING."

TOM RENTED A TINY STUDIO,
GREW A MOUSTACHE

INSTALLED A MISTRESS,
AND SPENT HOURS AT THE LOUVRE.

HE DISLIKED HIS CLASSES,
DISLIKED HIS OWN WORK

DRANK AND TALKED A LOT.

HE WAS KNOWN IN PARIS
AS "LE PETIT BALZAC."

WHEN HIS MOTHER CAME TO VISIT
AND FOUND OUT ABOUT THE MISTRESS

SHE TOOK HER BOY HOME.

HE RETURNED TO MISSOURI
WEARING A STYLISH BLACK SUIT

AND FLOURISHING A WALKING STICK.

NEOSHO HAD NEVER SEEN
ANYTHING LIKE HIM.

THE COLONEL SENT HIM
TO NEW YORK.

Small:
HE ONCE SAID

THAT THE ARTIST'S LIFE
WAS THE BEST IN THE WORLD

IF YOU COULD GET THROUGH
THE FIRST 40 YEARS.

Narrator:
IN NEW YORK, BENTON HAD
FEW PROSPECTS AND NO MONEY.

HE STOLE PAINTS FROM MACY'S

FAILED AT PORTRAITS
AND CALENDAR ART

PAINTED MOVIE SETS,
WORKED AS AN EXTRA

SERVED A STINT IN THE NAVY

AND SURVIVED A STABBING
BY AN IRATE GIRLFRIEND.

HE ENTERED THE WORLD
OF RADICAL ART AND POLITICS

GETTING TO KNOW ALFRED STIEGLITZ
AND THE EDITOR MAX EASTMAN.

HE JOINED THE JOHN REED CLUB
AND THE PEOPLE'S ART GUILD

AND BEFRIENDED COMMUNISTS

BUT ALWAYS REMAINED
ON THE OUTER EDGES OF THINGS.

A FRIEND REMEMBERED
THAT HE NEVER SMILED.

ALWAYS HE CONTINUED TO PAINT.

HE IMITATED PISSARRO,
CEZANNE AND KANDINSKY.

HE TRIED IMPRESSIONISM,
POINTILLISM, CUBISM

CONSTRUCTIVISM, SYMBOLISM,
SYNCHRONISM--

NONE OF IT SATISFIED HIM.

"I SPENT 15 YEARS
ON MY BEAM-END," HE REMEMBERED

"ROCKED BY EVERY WAVE
THAT CAME ALONG.

I FLOUNDERED, WITHOUT A COMPASS,
IN EVERY DIRECTION."

Kramer:
BENTON'S WORK AS
A MODERNIST, I THOUGHT

WAS REALLY VERY STRONG.

I WOULD NEVER HAVE PUT HIM
UP IN THE FIRST CLASS

BUT IT WAS APPRENTICE WORK

IT WAS THE WORK OF A YOUNG
ARTIST DISCOVERING NEW IDEAS

WHICH CLEARLY SCARED
THE LIFE OUT OF HIM

BECAUSE HE MADE CERTAIN LATER ON

THAT HE NEVER HAD TO DEAL
WITH A NEW IDEA EVER AGAIN.

Narrator:
BENTON EXPERIMENTED MOST
WITH SYNCHRONISM

COMBINING BRILLIANT COLOR

WITH THE EXPLODED FORMS
OF THE CUBISTS.

BUT HE WAS ALSO DRAWN
TO THE COMPOSITIONAL PRINCIPLES

OF RENAISSANCE MASTERS:

RUBENS, EL GRECO, TINTORETTO--

ESPECIALLY TINTORETTO.

IN ABOUT 1919, IT WAS REALLY
THE BREAKTHROUGH FOR TOM BENTON

WHEN HE FOUND A WAY
TO BUILD CLAY MODELS

AS A BASIS FOR HIS PAINTINGS.

IN HIS STUDIES
HE DISCOVERED TINTORETTO

AND TINTORETTO'S
MAKING OF LITTLE WAX FIGURES

AND PUTTING THEM ON A STAGE
AND LIGHTING THEM

ACHIEVING AN EFFECT

THAT HE COULD THEN GET
INTO HIS PAINTINGS.

ONCE HE HAD THIS BASIS
FOR HIS PAINTINGS

HE COULD THEN APPLY IT
TO JUST A PARADE

OF HISTORICAL RECOLLECTIONS,
AND THE AMERICAN MYTHS

THAT HE INCORPORATED
IN HIS GREAT MURALS--

ALL THROUGH THE PROJECTION
OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL FORM

BASED ON THOSE THREE-
DIMENSIONAL MODELS

AND FOR THE NEXT 55 YEARS

TOM BENTON DIDN'T DO A PAINTING
UNLESS HE FIRST DID IT IN CLAY.

Man:
HE MADE THE DECISION

AFTER HE'D REALLY GOTTEN
INVOLVED IN CONTENT

AND BEGAN TO THINK ABOUT
THE IMPORTANCE OF MEANING

TO HIS AUDIENCES
AND TO HIMSELF--

WHAT HE WANTED TO SAY
WITH HIS PAINTING.

HE ABANDONED THE MORE
THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THINGS

AND BEGAN TO DEAL WITH MORE
THREE-DIMENSIONAL, BAROQUE

STORYTELLING KINDS OF THINGS.

Narrator:
"I PROCLAIMED HERESIES AROUND
NEW YORK," BENTON REMEMBERED.

"I WANTED MORE
THAN ANYTHING ELSE

"TO MAKE PICTURES, THE IMAGERY
OF WHICH WOULD CARRY

UNMISTAKABLE AMERICAN MEANINGS
FOR AMERICANS."

HE BELIEVED IN AMERICA--

IN THE SPIRIT THAT WAS
IN THE COUNTRY

AND HE FELT THAT THE ART
SHOULD COME FROM THE COUNTRY.

TO BE CLEAR, LIKE
THE AMERICAN SOUL IS

AND ARTICULATE IN A SIMPLER WAY

NOT ABSTRACT,
BUT DOWN TO EARTH, AND REAL.

Narrator:
"I SET OUT PAINTING AMERICAN
HISTORIES," BENTON SAID

"IN DEFIANCE OF ALL THE
CONVENTIONS OF OUR ART WORLD."

AND HE STARTED WORK
ON A SERIES OF BIG CANVASES

WHICH HE CALLED
"THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL EPIC."

E. Piacenza:
HISTORY WAS NOT FACTS TO HIM,
BUT TRANSLATED

INTO THE ACTIVITIES
OF PEOPLE DOING THINGS.

HISTORY HAD TO BE ALIVE.

IT HAD TO BE COLORFUL,
IT HAD TO BE MOVING

IT HAD TO SAY SOMETHING.

OH, DEAR, I SEE
LEAPING FIGURES, YES

AND I SEE INDIANS WITH
TOMAHAWKS AND SO ON.

HE LIKED THAT.

THOSE THAT WENT INTO
THE LORE AND LEGEND

OF AMERICAN HISTORY, YES.

HE WAS TRYING TO PUT ART
TO SOME HUMAN END;

TO SERVE SOME HUMAN PURPOSE;

TO MAKE AMERICANS
SOMEHOW OR OTHER ALIVE

TO SOME DEEP DIMENSION
OF THEIR OWN REALITY.

I THINK THAT'S A GREAT PURPOSE
FOR ART TO SERVE.

HE WANTED PEOPLE
WHO WOULD READ FUNNY PAPERS

TO LIKE THE PICTURES,
HE REALLY DID.

Narrator:
IN 1924, BENTON WAS
CALLED HOME TO NEOSHO.

HIS FATHER HAD THROAT CANCER.

THEY RECONCILED
THEIR DIFFERENCES

AT THE OLD MAN'S BEDSIDE.

"I CANNOT SAY WHAT HAPPENED TO
ME WHILE I WATCHED MY FATHER DIE

AND LISTENED TO THE VOICES
OF HIS FRIENDS," BENTON WROTE

"BUT I KNOW THAT
WHEN I GOT BACK EAST

"I WAS MOVED BY A GREAT DESIRE

TO PICK UP THE THREADS
OF MY CHILDHOOD."

I'M NOT A PSYCHO-BIOGRAPHER,
BUT I DO THINK

A GOOD DEAL OF BENTON'S
ADULT CHARACTER GREW

FROM HIS RELATIONSHIP
WITH HIS FATHER

WHO WAS A POPULIST SENATOR, WHO
DID NOT LIKE EASTERN INTERESTS

NOR INTERNATIONAL INTERESTS

AND DID NOT LIKE
MODERN ART AT ALL

AND BENTON BECAME, IN EFFECT,
LIKE HIS FATHER

AFTER HIS FATHER DIED.

Narrator:
FROM THEN ON

HE WOULD ROAM THE AMERICAN
COUNTRYSIDE WHENEVER HE COULD--

NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST.

"I STUCK MY NOSE INTO
EVERYTHING," HE SAID

AND HE PRODUCED
THOUSANDS OF DRAWINGS

OF THE PEOPLE HE MET
AND THE PLACES HE SAW.

A FRIEND CALLED THEM
"A MOUNTAIN OF AMERICANA."

HE WOULD MINE THAT MOUNTAIN
ALL HIS LIFE.

AFTER PARIS AND SO ON,
HE'D BEEN THROUGHOUT AMERICA

JUST MAKING DRAWINGS OF THE LIFE
OF PEOPLE OUT IN THE MIDWEST--

DRAWINGS WHICH TO ME
HAD THE CHARACTER OF MARK TWAIN

IN LITERATURE--

I MEAN, RIGHT OUT
OF AMERICAN LIFE

AND A PART OF AMERICAN LIFE THAT
HAD NOT BEEN PUT INTO THE ARTS.

Narrator:
WHILE TEACHING NIGHT CLASSES
AT A PUBLIC SCHOOL

BENTON FELL IN LOVE
WITH A BEAUTIFUL STUDENT

RITA PIACENZA.

SHE WAS AN ITALIAN IMMIGRANT
AND A ROMAN CATHOLIC.

BENTON'S FAMILY WAS APPALLED;
SO WAS HERS.

Man:
WE THOUGHT THAT
HE DIDN'T HAVE A JOB

THAT HE WAS PAINTING,
HE COULDN'T SELL

AND RITA HAD TO SUPPORT HIM.

YOU KNOW, ITALIANS, THEY EXPECT
THE MAN TO SUPPORT THE WIFE

NOT THE WIFE
TO SUPPORT THE HUSBAND.

Narrator:
THEY GOT MARRIED ANYWAY.

RITA MADE HATS
WHILE TOM PAINTED.

T.H. Benton:
NOW, WE LED A SIMPLE LIFE.

MY GOD, I LIVED IN
NEW YORK CITY AT THE TIME

IN A FLAT THAT HAD NO HEAT.

I HAD TO CARRY COAL
UP FIVE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS

AND WE HAD KEROSENE LAMPS.

THAT'S RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE
OF NEW YORK CITY.

Narrator:
WHEN THEIR FIRST CHILD--
THOMAS PIACENZA BENTON

KNOWN AS T.P.-- WAS BORN,
HE SLEPT IN A DRESSER DRAWER.

Man:
MY MOTHER VISITED THEIR
APARTMENT, WHICH I GUESS

WAS VERY CLOSE TO THE...
FULL-FLEDGED DEFINITION

OF ABJECT SQUALOR AND CHAOS,
AND NO ADORNMENTS, NO AMENITIES

AND MY MOTHER SAID TO RITA,
"I DON'T UNDERSTAND

HOW YOU CAN LIVE
UNDER THESE CONDITIONS";

TO WHICH RITA REPLIED,
WITH CONFIDENCE

AND A TOUCH OF HAUTEUR,
"MY HUSBAND IS A GENIUS."

Bennett:
OH, BOY-- RITA BENTON?

BOY! WHAT A WOMAN.

MORE FIRE IN THAT
FAT ITALIAN LADY

THAN I EVER SAW IN ANY WOMAN

AND I LOVED RITA, AND I THINK

ANYBODY WHO KNEW RITA
LOVED RITA BENTON.

Narrator:
BENTON WAS OFTEN AWAY SKETCHING
FOR MONTHS AT A TIME

AND HATED INTERRUPTIONS
WHEN AT HOME.

"TOM IS THE WORST HUSBAND AND
WORST FATHER THAT EVER LIVED"

RITA ONCE TOLD A FRIEND.

"NO AMERICAN WOMAN COULD
HAVE BEEN MARRIED TO TOM."

E. Piacenza:
TOM WOULD GET DISCOURAGED,
AND HE'D TEAR UP A PAINTING

AND RITA WOULD HAVE HIM
OUT IN HIS STUDIO

THE NEXT MORNING,
PAINTING AGAIN

AND SHE ENCOURAGED HIM GREATLY.

SHE'D LOOK AT HIS PAINTING

AND SHE'D SAY,
"TOM, IT'S FANTASTIC."

WELL, HE TOLD ME THAT
IF IT WASN'T FOR...

"IT'S BEEN VERY HARD

"TO LIVE WITH YOUR SISTER
ALL THESE YEARS.

"THAT'S A HARD WOMAN
TO GET ALONG.

"BUT IF IT WASN'T FOR HER--

"I WAS A BUM, I WOULD
STILL BE A BUM

AND I WOULDN'T HAVE
A DIME TO MY NAME."

Narrator:
IN 1929 RITA SOMEHOW TALKED

THE PRESIDENT OF THE NEW SCHOOL
FOR SOCIAL RESEARCH

IN GREENWICH VILLAGE

INTO LETTING TOM PAINT
NINE MURAL PANELS

FOR A BOARDROOM THERE.

IT WAS HIS FIRST BIG COMMISSION.

HIS ONLY PAYMENT WAS
THE PRICE OF THE EGGS

THAT WENT INTO
PREPARING HIS PAINT.

"AMERICA TODAY" WAS THE THEME.

"IT MAY NOT BE ART," BENTON
SAID, "BUT IT IS HISTORY."

WHAT'S WONDERFUL
ABOUT "AMERICA TODAY"

IS THE COMPLEXITY
AND THE ENERGY--

A HUGE, BRAWLING
NUMBER OF FIGURES

ALL JOSTLING ONE ANOTHER
FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

I LIKE THE ENERGY LEVEL.

"AMERICA TODAY"--
AMERICA TODAY, TODAY, MODERN.

Adams:
"AMERICA TODAY" IS PROBABLY
BENTON'S MOST MUSCULAR PAINTING.

THE WAY IT WAS SET UP
IN THE NEW SCHOOL

IT WAS SO CLOSE TO YOU THAT
YOU WERE CONFRONTING FIGURES

THAT SEEMED BIGGER THAN YOU WERE

WITH THESE VERY HOT,
AGGRESSIVE COLORS

THESE PURPLES AND ORANGES.

Goodrich:
IT WAS A NEW TECHNIQUE
COMPLETELY IN MURAL PAINTING

OF ACTUALLY TAKING REALITY

AND MAKING MURAL ART
DIRECTLY OUT OF IT.

HERE'S A MAN WHO TOOK
THE WHOLE FACE OF AMERICA

AND TRIED TO MAKE
A WORK OF ART OUT OF IT.

IT WAS TOO CROWDED, NO QUESTION,
ARTISTICALLY SPEAKING

BUT AFTER ALL,
A SUPERABUNDANCE OF VITALITY

IS SOMETHING YOU
DON'T JUST SLOUGH OFF.

Marling:
HE SHOWS YOU PRIZEFIGHTING.

HE SHOWS YOU LADIES
GOING TO THE MOVIES

SNEAKING OFF FOR THE AFTERNOON.

HE SHOWS YOU PREACHERS
YOWLING ON STREET CORNERS

AND SALVATION ARMY BANDS.

ALMOST EVERYTHING BECOMES A KIND
OF GAUDY ENTERTAINMENT

THAT BENTON LOOKS AT.

Adams:
IN "AMERICA TODAY,"
BENTON HAS SLIPPED IN

ALL KINDS OF SLY REFERENCES
ABOUT HIS NEW YORK FRIENDS.

THERE'S A SCENE WHERE HIS
ONETIME FRIEND, MAX EASTMAN

IS SHOWN OGLING
A GIRL IN THE SUBWAY

BUT NOT GIVING UP HIS SEAT

AND TO MAKE IT
EVEN MORE SALACIOUS

THE HEAD OF THE GIRL
IN THE SUBWAY

IS A NOTORIOUS STRIPPER
WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN

PRETTY WELL KNOWN
TO THE NEW YORKERS OF THE TIME.

Narrator:
ABSTRACTIONISTS DENOUNCED BENTON

FOR TRYING TO TELL STORIES
WITH HIS PAINTINGS.

SOCIAL REALISTS DENOUNCED
HIS STORYTELLING

FOR NOT BLAMING CAPITALISM
FOR THE DEPRESSION.

BENTON WAS UNMOVED.

IT WAS THE SHEER ENERGY
OF AMERICA THAT COMPELLED HIM.

Adams:
THERE'S A MAGICAL PERIOD
IN BENTON'S WORK

FROM ABOUT 1928 TO 1938

WHERE IT SEEMED AS THOUGH HE
COULD DO NO WRONG AS A PAINTER.

ONE AFTER ANOTHER,
HE WAS TURNING OUT

INCREDIBLY MEMORABLE PAINTINGS

WHICH I WOULD CHARACTERIZE
AS MASTERPIECES

AND THERE'S SOMETHING COMPULSIVE
ABOUT HIM IN THAT PERIOD.

IN THE INDIANA MURAL,
FOR EXAMPLE

HE WAS PAINTING A WALL
12 FEET HIGH AND 250 FEET LONG--

THAT'S TO SAY, A WALL
THE SIZE OF A CITY BLOCK--

WHICH HE PAINTED
IN LESS THAN A YEAR

WITH HUNDREDS OF FIGURES.

Field:
BENTON'S MURALS HAVE REALLY
A REMARKABLE UNIQUENESS.

THEY SEEM TO LEAP
OUT OF THE WALLS.

PART OF THIS IS DUE TO COLOR.

PART OF THIS IS DUE TO
A REMARKABLE DEPTH PERCEPTION

THAT HE COULD PUT ON CANVAS

IN MANY INSTANCES,
BIGGER THAN LIFE.

THESE THINGS TOGETHER
TOLD A STORY

THAT LEAPS OUT AT YOU
FROM THE WALLS.

Scott:
ANOTHER THING HAD TO DO WITH
THE PERSPECTIVES HE USED

THAT HE USED
A HIGH HORIZON LINE--

IF YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING
ABOUT, THE LEVEL OF THE EYE--

WOULD BE HIGH IN THE PICTURE
AND YOU LOOKED DOWN ON THINGS.

BUT PERSPECTIVE IMPLIES
ONE VANISHING POINT.

TOM TOOK LIBERTIES WITH THAT.

HE WOULD MOVE
THE VANISHING POINT ALONG

ON THE SAME HORIZON LINE

SO THAT YOU COULD HAVE
A SHIFTING VANISHING POINT.

Narrator:
BENTON'S VAST MURAL
FOR THE INDIANA EXHIBIT

AT THE 1933 CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR

WON HIM PLENTY OF ATTENTION
BUT FEW FRIENDS IN INDIANA

BECAUSE IT INCLUDED
A COAL MINERS' STRIKE

AND A KU KLUX KLAN RALLY.

NEW YORK CRITICS
DENOUNCED IT, TOO.

Goodrich:
HE MADE HIS ENEMIES, OF COURSE.

ON THE ONE HAND, THERE WERE
THE SOPHISTICATED PEOPLE

WHO THOUGHT IN TERMS
OF INTERNATIONAL ART

PARTICULARLY FRENCH ART;

AND THE OTHER WAS
THE SOCIAL CONTENT SCHOOL

REPRESENTED BY PEOPLE LIKE
STUART DAVIS AND BEN SHAHN

AND SO ON.

IN THOSE DAYS, THE ART WORLD
WAS VERY LIVELY--

AN AWFUL LOT GOING ON, ALL KINDS
OF FIGHTS; IT WAS KIND OF FUN.

I LIKE REALISM IN AMERICAN ART

BUT I DON'T LIKE
BENTON'S WORK AT ALL.

HIS COLOR WAS BAD, AND...

HE DIDN'T DRAW WELL.

I DON'T KNOW WHY
HE BECAME AN ARTIST.

TO ME, THERE ISN'T ANY ENERGY

IN THOSE PAINTINGS
OF AMERICA TODAY.

IT'S A KIND OF CARTOON VERSION

OF WHAT AMERICA WAS
AT THAT TIME.

I REMEMBER SOMETHING

ABOUT WHAT AMERICAN CITY LIFE
WAS LIKE IN THE '30s.

IT BORE ABSOLUTELY NO RELATION
TO BENTON'S VISION OF IT.

Narrator:
BENTON NOW TOOK TO LECTURING
ON ART AND POLITICS.

ONCE, AT THE JOHN REED CLUB

AN AGITATED PARTY MEMBER
THREW A CHAIR AT HIM.

I THINK HE WAS LOOKING

FOR THE CHAPLIN AUDIENCE,
ALMOST, IN A SENSE.

HE FELT THAT HE COULD SET
CERTAIN STRINGS VIBRATING

AMONG AMERICAN PEOPLE, THAT
WOULD GIVE ART THE IMMEDIACY

THAT PERHAPS IT HAD
IN THE RENAISSANCE

WHERE IT BECAME
A FIGHTING THING, YOU KNOW.

WHEN SOMEBODY FINISHED SOMETHING

THE WHOLE DAMN POPULATION
WOULD TURN OUT TO SEE IT.

THE THING ABOUT ART TO ME
IS ENERGY, POWER

PLASTIC POWER
IN THE WORK OF ART ITSELF.

AND HE HAD THAT QUALITY,
NO QUESTION.

Narrator:
BENTON WAS NOT THE ONLY PAINTER

WHO WAS AT ODDS WITH
THE NEW YORK ART WORLD

AND WHO DREAMED OF ESTABLISHING
A DISTINCTIVELY AMERICAN ART.

GRANT WOOD, AN IOWAN

AND JOHN STEUART CURRY OF KANSAS
ALREADY WORKED IN THE MIDWEST.

Man:
AT THAT TIME, I CONSIDERED THEM

THREE IMPORTANT AMERICAN ARTISTS

AND HE WAS ONE OF THEM--

THOMAS BENTON, GRANT WOOD
AND STEUART CURRY.

THEY WERE THE GREAT AMERICAN
ARTISTS IN THOSE DAYS.

Narrator:
POLITICAL AND AESTHETIC CRITICS
ALIKE DENOUNCED THEM

AS MERE REGIONALISTS

BY WHICH THEY MEANT
ISOLATIONIST, CHAUVINISTIC.

BUT BENTON, WOOD AND CURRY
CAME TO BE PROUD OF THE NAME

AND WHEN TIME MAGAZINE
WROTE THEM UP IN 1934

WITH BENTON'S SELF-PORTRAIT
ON THE COVER

THEY BECAME THE NATION'S
BEST-KNOWN PAINTERS.

Goodrich:
BENTON WAS HEAD AND SHOULDERS
ABOVE THE WHOLE REGIONAL SCHOOL.

I MEAN, AS MUCH AS I LIKE
GRANT WOOD'S WORK

I DON'T THINK IT HAS
THE SAME QUALITY

NOR JOHN STEUART CURRY,
WHO WAS MY GOOD FRIEND.

THEY WERE FINE PAINTERS.

GRANT WOOD WAS, IN A WAY,
AN INNOVATOR, TOO

BUT NOT TO THE EXTENT
THAT BENTON WAS.

THOMAS BENTON, I THINK,
TRANSCENDED ILLUSTRATION.

I MEAN, HE TRANSCENDED IT.

AND HE HAD A STYLE OF HIS OWN

A VERY IMPETUOUS KIND OF STYLE
VERY MUCH HIS OWN.

NOBODY ELSE PAINTED LIKE HIM,
THE SAME SPIRIT.

Adams:
HE CALLED HIMSELF A REGIONALIST

BUT HE DIDN'T PAINT ONE REGION
OF THE COUNTRY.

HE REALLY ROAMED
THE WHOLE COUNTRY

FROM NEW YORK TO HOLLYWOOD

FROM THE OBSCURE PARTS OF
THE OZARKS IN THE DEEP SOUTH

TO THE BIG, OPEN SPACES
OF THE GREAT PLAINS.

BENTON REALLY GOT
ALL OVER AMERICA.

Narrator:
IN 1935, BENTON PUBLISHED
A FURIOUS ASSAULT

ON THE CITY WHERE
HE HAD LIVED AND WORKED

FOR ALMOST 25 YEARS.

THE HOPE OF AMERICAN ART NOW
LAY IN THE HEARTLAND, HE SAID.

THE NEW YORK ART WORLD
WAS MORBIDLY NARROW

AND HIGHLY CRITICAL
OF INNOVATION

AND UNDER THE DOMINATION
OF HOMOSEXUALS.

Campanella:
HE KNEW HOW TO GET
ONTO THE FRONT PAGE.

IT'S BETTER TO BE CALLED
A LOUSE, ANYTHING

THAN NOT BE MENTIONED AT ALL.

I MEAN, HE BECAME PUBLIC NEWS--

NOT ON THE ART PAGE,
ON THE FRONT PAGE.

Kramer:
WHAT I SEE IN HIS ART
IS THE WORK OF A MAN

WHO REALLY SHRANK AWAY
FROM WHAT I CONSIDERED

THE LARGEST TASKS OF ART
IN THIS CENTURY.

HE HAD A GLIMPSE OF IT
IN PARIS AND IN NEW YORK.

HE MADE AN ATTEMPT AT IT,
AND HE WASN'T EQUAL TO IT.

SO HE PACKED HIS BAGS
AND WENT BACK

TO WHERE HE COULD BE
A BIG FIGURE IN A SMALL WORLD.

Small:
I OFTEN SAY THERE AREN'T
ANY REAL NEW YORKERS.

THEY ALL CAME FROM
THE MIDDLE WEST.

( she laughs )

THAT'S NOT STRICTLY TRUE,
BUT IT'S AMAZING.

THERE'S A GREAT DEAL OF FORCE
IN THE MIDDLE WEST.

IT IS THE UNITED STATES.

THE SHORES ARE THE BORDERS.

THINGS GO ON
IN VERY LIVELY FASHION

IN SAN FRANCISCO
AND NEW YORK CITY

BUT THEY AREN'T
THE UNITED STATES.

Narrator:
NOW AT AGE 45, BENTON
WENT HOME TO MISSOURI

TO BECOME HEAD
OF THE PAINTING DEPARTMENT

AT THE KANSAS CITY
ART INSTITUTE.

Adams:
IT'S THE STORY
OF THE HERO'S RETURN.

IT'S THE STORY OF THE TEENAGE
BOY WHO LEFT HIS HOME TOWN

TO PURSUE OTHER
DIRECTIONS IN LIFE

TO REJECT THE POLITICAL WORLD
OF HIS FATHER

AND THEN EVENTUALLY
CAME BACK HOME AGAIN

BUT CAME BACK HOME
ON HIS OWN TERMS.

TOM, WHAT IS IT THAT TOOK
YOU BACK TO KANSAS CITY

AFTER SPENDING SO MUCH
TIME IN NEW YORK?

WELL, THE FIRST THING WAS
THAT THE STATE OF MISSOURI

RAISED ENOUGH MONEY FOR ME
TO PAINT A MURAL

IN THE STATE CAPITOL.

I THOUGHT THAT WOULD TAKE
A COUPLE OF YEARS

SO WE MOVED OUT HERE
TO DO IT.

THERE ARE OTHER REASONS,
HOWEVER--

I WAS A LITTLE FED UP

WITH THE CONSTANT
QUARRELING AND BICKERING

AND THE AESTHETIC
ATMOSPHERE OF NEW YORK

IN WHICH, AS AN ARTIST,
I WAS FORCED TO LIVE.

SO, PARTLY THE RETURN
WAS A FLIGHT

FROM THE VARIOUS
IDIOCIES OF THAT.

T.H. Benton:
I WAS COMMISSIONED
TO MAKE A HISTORY OF MISSOURI

BUT A PARTICULAR KIND--
A SOCIAL HISTORY

A HISTORY OF THE LIFE
OF THE PEOPLE OF MISSOURI

THOSE WHO ACTUALLY
MADE MISSOURI.

MOST MURALS ARE PAINTED
WITH ONE SUBJECT

AND THIS MURAL IS DIFFERENT

IN THE FACT THAT IT DEALS WITH
A MULTIPLICITY OF SUBJECTS.

AND IT WAS A CONSIDERABLE
TECHNICAL PROBLEM

TO GET THEM ALL IN HERE.

Newsreel announcer:
ALL MISSOURI GETS EXCITED
ABOUT THE STATEHOUSE MURALS.

THE PAINTINGS
BY THOMAS HART BENTON

HAVE DRAWN 30,000 SPECTATORS.

Campanella:
HE PLANNED HIS LIFE

AND AS A POLITICIAN,
HE KNEW HOW TO GO ABOUT IT.

HE TOLD ME THE WAY
HE GOT HIS MURAL:

HE WAS WITH SOME
OF THE POLITICIANS

AND IT WAS AT A PARTY,
AND THEY WERE DRUNK

AND HE JUST SLIPPED IT TO THEM:

"WHAT YOU NEED IS
A MURAL BY BENTON!"

SO THEY SAID,
"YES, YES, YES!"

THE NEXT DAY, HE SHOWED UP AND
SAID, "WHERE'S THE CONTRACT?"

AND THEY SAID, "WHAT CONTRACT?"

THEY HAD FORGOTTEN.

BUT HE PUT IT OVER,
AND GOT THE CONTRACT.

HE MADE THE COMMISSION; THEY
DIDN'T COME LOOKING FOR HIM.

AND THAT'S THE WAY
HE'S DONE HIS LIFE.

Narrator:
IT WAS HIS MASTERPIECE.

HE COVERED
THE JEFFERSON CITY WALLS

WITH FAMILIAR SCENES AND PEOPLE:

HIS BROTHER PLEADS A CASE
BEFORE A JURY;

HIS FATHER HARANGUES A CROWD

THAT INCLUDES HIS
OLD LAW PARTNER.

Piacenza:
EVERYTHING IN THAT MURAL
RELATES TO HIS BOYHOOD.

AND HE SAID AT THE TIME
HE DID IT:

"IT'S LIKE LIVING
MY BOYHOOD OVER AGAIN."

Adams:
THE JEFFERSON CITY MURAL IS
AN EXTREMELY PERSONAL STATEMENT

BECAUSE HE'S REPRESENTING
A SOCIAL HISTORY OF MISSOURI

AND BY IMPLICATION,
A SOCIAL HISTORY OF AMERICA.

BUT HE GIVES HIS OWN FAMILY
A VERY CENTRAL PLACE IN IT

AND INTERESTINGLY, NOT THE MOST
FAMOUS MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY

NOT HIS NAMESAKE,
SENATOR THOMAS HART BENTON

BUT IT'S HIS FATHER
AND HIS BROTHER

WHO DOMINATE THE CENTRAL
SECTION OF THAT MURAL

THE HUGE 40-FOOT WALL.

Narrator:
BENTON'S VERSION OF MISSOURI'S
MORE DISTANT PAST

WAS FILLED WITH HARD TRUTHS

AND THE ENDURING MYTHS
OF THE STATE: HUCK FINN

JESSE JAMES

AND THE LEGEND
OF FRANKIE AND JOHNNY.

Field:
AND THIS PICTURE BECAME
QUITE CONTROVERSIAL

BUT IT GENERALLY IS CREDITED

THAT FRANKIE GOT
HER REVENGE ON JOHNNY

IN SOME OF THE LESS RESPECTABLE
AREAS OF THE TOWN OF ST. LOUIS.

Narrator:
BENTON PUT EVERYTHING IN.

EVEN THE PRINT OF
"CUSTER'S LAST STAND"

WHICH INSPIRED HIM AS A BOY

IS ON THE WALL
IN "FRANKIE AND JOHNNY."

POLITICIANS AND CLERGYMEN
OBJECTED TO HIS PORTRAYAL

OF A LYNCHING OR
THE PRESENCE OF LOWLIFES

A BARE-BOTTOMED BABY

AND THE NOTORIOUS BOSS OF
KANSAS CITY, TOM PENDERGAST.

Larson:
HE TELLS A TRUTHFUL STORY THERE

AND HE'S NOT AFRAID
TO TELL THE UNDERSIDE

THE DARK SIDE OF THE HISTORY
OF THE STATE.

AND WHEN HE DOES THINGS TO
SUGGEST THAT THERE WAS POVERTY

DURING THE DEPRESSION,
THAT THERE WAS SLAVERY

THAT THE MORMONS
WERE PERSECUTED

THAT THE INDIANS WERE CHEATED

THAT THERE WAS
HYPOCRISY GOING ON

IN TERMS OF POLITICS
AND RELIGION AND LAW--

HE'S TELLING IT LIKE IT IS

AND HE DOES IT BEAUTIFULLY.

Bennett:
PEOPLE SAY WE'RE A BUNCH
OF LITTLE BENTONS--

WELL, WE WERE.

TOM SAID TO US:

"I'M GOING TO TEACH YOU GUYS
THE TOOLS OF THIS TRADE.

"THEN YOU GO OUT
AND GO YOUR OWN WAY.

BUT WHILE YOU'RE HERE, I'M
GOING TO TEACH YOU WHAT I KNOW."

TOM'S PHRASE WAS "GRAND DESIGN":

"YOU GOT TO GET
THE GRAND DESIGN FIRST.

"DON'T GET INTO DETAIL,
AND THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER

"UNTIL YOU'VE GOT
A GRAND DESIGN.

"WHEN YOU'VE GOT
THE GRAND DESIGN

NOW YOU CAN MAKE A PAINTING."

JUST AS THE STUDENTS WANTED

TO BE ASSOCIATED
WITH THE GREAT PAINTER

BENTON WANTED TO BE ONE OF THE
STUDENTS, OR ONE OF THE WORKMEN.

HE WANTED TO BE A MAN
APPLYING HIS TRADE.

Narrator:
STUDENTS HAD ALWAYS
SOUGHT HIM OUT.

ONE OF THE FIRST WAS A YOUNG MAN
NAMED JACKSON POLLOCK

WHO BECAME ALMOST A SON
TO THE BENTONS.

T.H. Benton:
I MADE FRIENDS
OUT OF MY STUDENTS.

THEY WERE MY ONLY ASSOCIATES,
AND JACK WAS ONE OF THEM.

HE'D COME TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD

AND HELP ME WITH THE CHORES
THERE AND THE WORK.

WE HAD A LITTLE HOUSE
WE USED TO PUT HIM IN.

WE HAD OTHER STUDENTS,
BUT WE CALLED IT JACK'S HOUSE.

Narrator:
POLLOCK OFTEN POSED
FOR HIS TEACHER

AND FOR A TIME
EMULATED HIS STYLE.

THERE WAS A GUY WHO CAME
INTO THE CLASS ONE TIME

IN THE BEGINNING OF A SEMESTER.

AND HE SAT DOWN, AND HERE'S
A MODEL, AND THE WHOLE THING.

AND THIS GUY GETS SOME PURPLE,
AND HE PUTS A BIG GLOB OF YELLOW

AND TOM SAYS, "THAT'S IT."

HE SAID, "NO BUGHOUSE ART, NO
BUGHOUSE PAINTING IN MY CLASS."

HE SAYS, "YOU'RE OUT."

THE GUY LASTED ABOUT
AS LONG AS IT TOOK HIM

TO PUT ABOUT FOUR
OR FIVE BLOBS OF COLOR.

HE JUST... HE WAS REAL.

TOM BENTON WAS REAL.

THERE WASN'T ANYTHING
PHONY ABOUT HIM.

THEN HE CAME HERE TO HIS HOME,
AND HE PROSPERED

AND, IN MY OPINION, HE DECAYED,
BUT HE BECAME VERY POPULAR.

HIS WORK BECAME SLICKER,
SMOOTHER, MORE DETAILED

AND HE BECAME MORE LONELY.

OF COURSE, HE FELT

A NEW LIFE WAS GOING
TO BE BORN IN KANSAS CITY.

HE THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO BE
THE ATHENS OF THE COUNTRY.

HE WAS TIRED OF THE DOMINATION
OF THE PARIS SCHOOL IN NEW YORK.

HE FELT THAT HE WOULD FIND AN
IMMEDIATE HOME IN KANSAS CITY.

HE WAS TRYING TO BE, AS IT WERE,
TINTORETTO IN KANSAS.

HE WAS USING
16th-, 17th-CENTURY STRATEGIES

FOR A 20th-CENTURY COUNTRY

AND USING, AS IT WERE,
THE DYNAMISMS OF HIGH ART

IN ORDER TO PRESENT A COMMON
MESSAGE TO COMMON PEOPLE.

THE DISTANCE WAS,
I THINK, TOO GREAT.

Campanella:
I THINK SOMEWHERE
EARLY IN HIS LIFE

HE SAYS, "I'M A MISSOURIAN,"
AND HE WENT BACK

AND HE WENT THROUGH
THE OZARKS AND SKETCHED.

HE WANTED TO GET
THE FEELING OF THIS.

HE WORKED VERY HARD AT IT.

HE CAME UP WITH
SOMETHING STIMULATING.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE EARLY WORK,
IT IS STIMULATING IN APPROACH.

HE PAINTS RAPIDLY.

HE PAINTS WITH
A LOT OF DECISION.

HE THEN GETS IT.

AND THE UNFORTUNATE THING,
LIKE IT HAPPENS SO OFTEN

MAYBE SUCCESS IS A DEADLY THING.

THEN WHAT TO DO
WITH THE SUCCESS?

HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT
TO PAINT AFTER THAT.

HE PAINTED SUCCESS.

Baigell:
MANY OF HIS TRIPS THROUGH
THE SOUTHEAST AND SOUTHWEST

AND THROUGH APPALACHIA

TOOK ON THE AURA OF A POLITICAL
TOUR AS HE WROTE ABOUT IT

AS IF HE WERE HIS FATHER

VISITING HIS CONSTITUENTS
AROUND AMERICA

STEPPING INTO THEIR LIVES,
TALKING TO THEM.

BUT BENTON WAS NOT ONE OF THEM.

HE SPOKE FRENCH, READ WIDELY

AT THE SAME TIME,
TRIED TO BE A HAYSEED

TRIED TO BE ONE OF THE PEOPLE

BUT WAS REALLY NOT
ONE OF THE PEOPLE.

YOU SEE, TOM BENTON, HE LIKED
TO BE A HAIL-FELLOW-WELL-MET

AND ONE OF THE GANG,
BUT HE WASN'T--

TOM BENTON WAS AN ARISTOCRAT.

Field:
"THERE IS ABOUT
THE MISSOURI LANDSCAPE

"SOMETHING INTIMATE
AND KNOWN TO ME.

"WHILE I DRIVE AROUND THE CURVE
OF A COUNTRY ROAD

"I SEEM TO KNOW WHAT
IS GOING TO BE THERE

"WHAT THE CREEK BEDS
AND THE SYCAMORES

"AND WALNUTS LINING THEM
WILL LOOK LIKE

"AND WHAT THE COLOR
OF THE BLUFFS WILL BE.

"FEELING SO, I DON'T BELIEVE
I SHALL EVER EAT THE WORDS

"OF THE ESSAY I WROTE
WHEN I LEFT NEW YORK.

"IT WILL TAKE CONSIDERABLE
PRESSURE ANYHOW

TO MAKE ME EAT THEM ALL
AND GO BACK."

Narrator:
IN 1938, BENTON PUBLISHED
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

IT SPARED NEITHER ENEMIES,
NOR FRIENDS, NOR HIMSELF.

A REVIEWER PRONOUNCED IT
"ALL MISSOURI, NO COMPROMISE."

James:
ARTIST IN AMERICA IS ONE
OF THE BEST BOOKS OF ITS DECADE.

IT'S APPALLING TO ME, IT MADE
ME RATHER ANGRY AT MYSELF

TO SEE THAT THIS MAN
WHO WAS A PAINTER

COULD HANDLE LANGUAGE THAT WELL.

I THINK HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY IS A
REALLY SPLENDIDLY WRITTEN MEMOIR

AND WHAT I PARTICULARLY
ADMIRE ABOUT IT

ARE THESE VERY SHORT,
TOUGH SENTENCES.

I MEAN, EVERY SENTENCE IS REALLY
LIKE A KIND OF BULL'S EYE.

I THINK THAT BENTON
REALLY MISSED HIS VOCATION.

HE REALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN
A WRITER, RATHER THAN A PAINTER.

Narrator:
BENTON'S FRANK AUTOBIOGRAPHY

OUTRAGED COMMUNITY LEADERS
IN KANSAS CITY

WHO DEMANDED HE BE FIRED
FROM THE ART INSTITUTE.

THE CONTROVERSY GREW HOTTER
AFTER BENTON PAINTED TWO NUDES.

BOTH PICTURES WERE
REALISTIC AND DETAILED

IN THREE-DIMENSIONAL COMPOSITION

"WHICH SO PROJECTED
THE LADIES," HE SAID

"THAT THEIR NUDITY WAS
IN QUITE POSITIVE EVIDENCE."

WHEN "SUSANNAH AND THE ELDERS"
WAS FIRST SHOWN IN ST. LOUIS

CLERGYMEN WERE OUTRAGED THAT
A NUDE WITH RED FINGERNAILS

SHOULD REPRESENT A FIGURE
FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT.

VELVET ROPES HAD TO BE PUT UP

TO KEEP MALE VISITORS
FROM GETTING TOO CLOSE.

"PERSEPHONE" CAUSED
AN EVEN BIGGER STIR.

Kramer:
THAT'S PURE KITSCH,
"PERSEPHONE" IS KITSCH.

IT'S LIKE GIRLIE PICTURES
THAT USED TO APPEAR

IN ESQUIRE OF AN EARLIER PERIOD.

THAT CERTAINLY HAS TO BE ONE
OF HIS VERY WORST PAINTINGS.

Marling:
"PERSEPHONE"...

"PERSEPHONE" IS JUST A GLORIOUS
AND WONDERFUL PAINTING.

SHE'S ONE OF THE GREAT WORKS
OF AMERICAN PORNOGRAPHY.

SHE INVITES YOU TO HAVE EMOTIONS

THAT YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE
IN FRONT OF WORKS OF ART

AND THEN DENIES YOU
THE ABILITY TO FULFILL THEM.

IT'S JUST A KIND
OF GREAT EXPERIENCE

TO WALK INTO SOME
STUFFY OLD ART GALLERY

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN COME
INTO CONTACT WITH THAT LADY;

BESIDES WHICH, THERE'S
THIS WONDERFUL OLD LECH

PEERING AROUND
THE CORNER AT HER!

"PERSEPHONE" IS A PRETTY
LUSCIOUS PAINTING

AND ALSO, I THINK IT'S AN
EMOTIONALLY COMPLICATED PAINTING

IN A WAY THAT'S
QUITE FASCINATING

BECAUSE IT'S REALLY ABOUT
ALL THOSE COMPLEXITIES

OF A MAN LUSTING AFTER A WOMAN

BOTH THE WAY THAT THAT'S
A WAY OF CONQUERING WOMEN

BUT ALSO IT SUGGESTS
SOME OF THE WAYS

IN WHICH MEN FEEL
VERY VULNERABLE.

Field:
HIS FAVORITE PAINTING
WAS "PERSEPHONE"

BECAUSE HE GOT SO MUCH MILEAGE

OUT OF WANTING IT HUNG
IN A SALOON OR A BROTHEL

RATHER THAN A MUSEUM.

Narrator:
THE SHOWMAN BILLY ROSE
MADE IT POSSIBLE

AND "PERSEPHONE" HUNG FOR A TIME

IN HIS MANHATTAN NIGHTCLUB,
THE DIAMOND HORSESHOE.

BENTON TOLD REPORTERS THAT THE
AVERAGE MUSEUM IS A GRAVEYARD

RUN BY A PRETTY BOY
WITH A CURVING WRIST.

THAT DID IT.

THE KANSAS CITY ART
INSTITUTE FIRED HIM.

Medearis:
WHY DID TOM BENTON GET FIRED?

WELL, RITA SAID

THAT YOU GIVE TOM BENTON
A COUPLE OF HIGHBALLS

AND A COUPLE OF REPORTERS,
AND HE WOULD TAKE OFF.

HE FELT THAT THEY HAD
A BUNCH OF FAKES THERE.

HE WAS VERY HARSH ON WHAT HE
CALLED "THE LIMP WRIST CROWD"

AND ACTUALLY MADE IT
RATHER TOUGH FOR THEM.

SOME OF THEM WERE
A BIT LACKING IN TALENT

BUT OTHERS WERE VERY,
VERY IMPORTANT

AND EXCELLENT CURATORS,
IT TURNS OUT.

IT WASN'T THE BEST ASPECT OF TOM

THAT HE WOULD TAKE OUT
AFTER THAT.

( airplanes flying overhead )

Franklin D. Roosevelt:
DECEMBER 7, 1941--

A DATE WHICH
WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.

Narrator:
AMERICA, TOM BENTON'S AMERICA,
WAS UNDER ATTACK.

"ART IS UNIMPORTANT ALONGSIDE
LIFE," HE TOLD A REPORTER.

"EVEN THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
SHOULD BE MELTED DOWN

TO MAKE BULLETS."

WITHIN WEEKS, HE HAD PAINTED
"THE YEAR OF PERIL"

A SERIES OF TEN HUGE
WAR PAINTINGS.

THEY WERE INTENDED, HE SAID

TO AWAKEN AMERICANS
TO THE DANGER THEY FACED

TO PULL THEM OUT OF THEIR SHELLS
OF PRETENSE AND MAKE-BELIEVE.

Newsreel announcer:
A GREAT AMERICAN ARTIST,
THOMAS HART BENTON

PORTRAYS WORLD WAR II.

I MADE THESE PAINTINGS
BECAUSE OF A CONVICTION

OBTAINED BY TRAVELING
AROUND THE COUNTRY

TO LECTURE
FOLLOWING PEARL HARBOR.

I SAW THAT TOO MANY PEOPLE
ARE OVER-OPTIMISTIC

AND UNDER THE IMPRESSION

THAT THEIR LIVES COULD
GO ON MUCH AS USUAL.

Newsreel announcer:
NEW YORK GALLERIES FIRST
SEE BENTON'S SERIES

CALLED "THE YEAR OF PERIL."

THIS IS "EXTERMINATE"

A PLEA THAT AMERICA
OUTMATCH THE AXIS.

THIS IS CALLED "AGAIN."

BENTON SAYS IT PORTRAYS

THE RECURRENCE OF EVIL
PEOPLES MAD WITH POWER.

"THE SOWERS"-- AND BENTON ASKS

"ARE WE TO STAND BY
AND LET THEM REAP?"

"THE YEAR OF PERIL" IS A KIND
OF ALMOST PSYCHOTIC OUTBURST

IN BENTON'S WORK.

HE SOMEHOW JUST TOTALLY
WENT OFF THE DEEP END

IN THOSE PAINTINGS.

HE CLEARLY WAS UPSET
ABOUT PEARL HARBOR

AND THAT JUST SORT OF UNLOOSED
ALL KINDS OF GARBAGE

THAT WAS INSIDE HIS MIND.

SO IT JUST CAME OUT
ALL OVER THE CANVAS.

Narrator:
CRITICS CALLED
THE WAR SERIES "CARTOONS"

BUT 75,000 PEOPLE
CAME OUT TO SEE THEM

WHEN THEY WERE EXHIBITED
IN NEW YORK

AND 26 MILLION COPIES WERE
PRINTED UP AS POSTERS.

Kramer:
BUT OF COURSE, THERE'S
NO SHORTAGE OF PEOPLE

WHO ARE CAPABLE OF BEING MOVED
BY BAD ART.

THE WORLD IS FULL OF BAD ART,
AND PEOPLE LOVE IT.

I DON'T THINK
POPULARITY CAN BE CITED

AS A STANDARD OF
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART.

Baigell:
THE REASON WHY HIS WORK
DECLINED, WHICH HE ADMITTED

WAS THAT WORLD WAR II KNOCKED
THE BOTTOM OUT OF ANYBODY

WHO WAS CONCERNED
JUST WITH AMERICAN ART.

THE 1940s WAS A PERIOD
OF GLOBAL WARFARE

AND TO BE CONCERNED
WITH HOW ONE FELT

IN A CERTAIN CITY
OR PLACE IN AMERICA

HE THOUGHT WAS IRRELEVANT,
AND HE KNEW THIS.

Narrator:
A NEW, DISTINCTIVELY AMERICAN
KIND OF PAINTING

CAME OUT OF THE WAR--

THE NEW YORK SCHOOL
OF ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM.

IT REPRESENTED EVERYTHING
BENTON DESPISED.

T.H. Benton:
WHO ARE THE ONES WHO PATRONIZE
AND SUPPORT MODERN ART?

IT IS SUPPORTED BY
THE SONS AND THE DAUGHTERS--

MOSTLY THE DAUGHTERS--
OF 19th-CENTURY MILLIONAIRES

WHO HAVE A LOT
OF SURPLUS CAPITAL

AND WHO CAN AFFORD TO PUT IT OUT

AMUSING THEMSELVES
WITH OBSCURE ISSUES!

WHY DO THEY SUPPORT IT?

FOR THE SIMPLE REASON
THEY CAN AFFORD TO HIDE

THEIR ABSOLUTELY
CONSERVATIVE OPINIONS

BY BEING VERY RADICAL ABOUT
SOMETHING THAT DON'T COUNT!

I THINK BENTON HAD A LOT
OF QUARRELS WITH MODERN ART

BUT I SUPPOSE THE BASIC ONE WAS

THAT HE THOUGHT IT APPEALED
TO A PRIVILEGED ELITE

AND HE WANTED TO MAKE ART

THAT HAD A LARGER AND MORE
UNIVERSAL STATEMENT TO IT

AND THAT DEALT WITH MORE
POWERFUL REALITIES OF DAILY LIFE

THAT WASN'T QUITE SO
PRECIOUS AND ESOTERIC.

I'M SURE THAT THE MOVEMENT
HAD PASSED HIM BY.

CERTAINLY THE REGIONAL PAINTERS,
THE MIDWESTERN SCHOOL

HAD VANISHED BY THEN.

AND YOU KNOW, THE NEW YORK
SCHOOL WAS SUDDENLY DOING

WHAT TOM BENTON WANTED
TO DO HIMSELF--

THEY WERE CHASING PARIS
OUT OF THIS COUNTRY

AND BECOMING THE WORLD CENTER.

Narrator:
BENTON WAS 56 AT THE WAR'S END,
AND INCREASINGLY ISOLATED.

GRANT WOOD HAD DIED IN 1942.

JOHN STEUART CURRY
FOLLOWED IN 1946.

REGIONALISM WAS DEAD, TOO,
AND REALISM, OUT OF FASHION.

Campanella:
THE SO-CALLED EUROPEAN
ABSTRACTIONISTS TOOK OVER

AND HE WAS LOST.

HE HAD NOBODY TO FIGHT WITH.

THE U.S. ART MARKET
NO LONGER WAS INTERESTED

IN THE AMERICAN SCENE.

THEY WERE INTERESTED
IN THIS NEW THING

CALLED ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM,
MINIMALISM, ACTION PAINTING.

Narrator:
CRITICS NOW DISMISSED
BENTON'S PAINTING

AS SENTIMENTAL, OLD-FASHIONED,
HOKEY BAROQUE.

HE NO LONGER HAD A GALLERY.

THE WHITNEY MUSEUM ASKED HIM
TO FIND A NEW HOME

FOR THE MURALS HE HAD PAINTED
FOR THEM IN THE '30s.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE ROOM
FOR HIS WORK.

Kramer:
THERE IS A COLOSSAL IRONY
IN THE FACT

THAT BENTON'S MOST FAMOUS
STUDENT, JACKSON POLLOCK

WENT ON TO PRODUCE THE KIND
OF AVANT-GARDE, ABSTRACT ART

THAT BENTON HIMSELF
MOST ARTICULATELY ABOMINATED.

ONE COULD ALMOST BELIEVE

THAT THERE WAS A KIND
OF POETIC JUSTICE THERE

THAT EVERYTHING BENTON REJECTED,
POLLOCK EXALTED.

Narrator:
THE MOST PUBLICIZED
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST

WAS BENTON'S OLD STUDENT,
JACKSON POLLOCK

WHO CLAIMED HE LEARNED NOTHING
FROM HIS OLD TEACHER.

BENTON, HE SAID, "HAD COME
FACE TO FACE WITH MICHELANGELO

AND LOST."

"JACK NEVER DID ANYTHING
THAT WAS UGLY"

BENTON LOYALLY TOLD VISITORS

BUT HE WAS PRIVATELY HURT
BY HIS STUDENT'S GREAT SUCCESS.

HE ONCE SAID THAT THE ONLY THING
HE TAUGHT JACKSON POLLOCK

WAS HOW TO DRINK A FIFTH A DAY.

BUT IN MY OPINION

THERE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN
A JACKSON POLLOCK

IF THERE HADN'T BEEN
A TOM BENTON.

THERE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN
A PAINTING LIKE "AUTUMN RHYTHM"

IF THERE HADN'T BEEN TOM BENTON

AND, THROUGH HIM, MICHELANGELO,
AND RUBENS, AND OTHERS.

POLLOCK REBELLED AGAINST ALL
THE DISCIPLINE OF REPRESENTATION

BUT HE NEVER FORGOT THE MELODY.

Small:
HE USED TO CALL TOM

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT,
IT ALWAYS WAS

ASKING-- WELL, REALLY
BEGGING FOR TOM'S APPROVAL.

HE FELT ATTACHED TO HIM
ALWAYS, I THINK.

AND TOM NEVER GAVE IT.

HE SAID, "JACK, IT'S ALL RIGHT,
WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO.

"IT'S SUCCESSFUL,
YOU'RE SUCCESSFUL.

DON'T BOTHER YOURSELF
ABOUT IT, IT'S ALL RIGHT."

Announcer:
ONE EVENING,
AFTER BUSINESS HOURS

TWO MEN ON THE MAIN FLOOR
OF A GREAT MIDWESTERN STORE

DISCUSS THE MAKING OF A MURAL

TO ADORN THE SPACE ABOVE
THE ELEVATOR ENTRANCES.

THEY ARE THE PRESIDENT OF
THE STORE AND THOMAS HART BENTON

ONE OF AMERICA'S
LEADING PAINTERS.

HAVING DECIDED ON A SUBJECT

THEY AGREE ON AN IMMEDIATE
START OF THE WORK.

Narrator:
BENTON TOOK WORK WHEREVER
HE COULD FIND IT.

HE ILLUSTRATED BOOKS BY
MARK TWAIN AND JOHN STEINBECK

TRIED ADVERTISING ART,
WORKED WITH WALT DISNEY

ON SETS FOR AN OPERETTA
ABOUT DAVY CROCKETT

AND QUIT WHEN DISNEY INSISTED
ON A HAPPY ENDING.

HE PAINTED SMALL MURALS FOR
A KANSAS CITY DEPARTMENT STORE

AND THE FASHIONABLE
AND EXCLUSIVE

KANSAS CITY RIVER CLUB.

EACH MURAL, HE ASSURED FRIENDS,
WOULD BE HIS LAST.

Announcer:
AND NOW FRAMED AND MOUNTED
ON THE STORE'S WALL

THE MURAL FULFILLS
ITS FUNCTION...

A LASTING CONTRIBUTION TO THE
ART OF AMERICA AND OF THE WORLD.

HE SOMEHOW LOST TOUCH
WITH THE CHANGES

THAT AMERICA HAD GONE THROUGH.

IT WAS A DIFFERENT KIND
OF SOCIETY, AND I THINK

THAT BENTON WENT ON PAINTING
SOME WONDERFUL PAINTINGS

THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER

BUT THERE ISN'T QUITE
THAT SAME MAGICAL CONNECTION

WITH HIS OWN CONCERNS AND
WITH THE IDENTITY OF AMERICA.

WHEN HE MOVED TO THE LEFT
APPARENTLY IN THE '20s

IT WAS AS AGAINST
THE "BOOB-OISIE"

THEN IN THE LEFT, HE FOUND IT
STIFLING AND INHOSPITABLE

SO HE FIGHTS THEM, TOO.

AND HE IS FIGHTING CONSTANT
BATTLES BETWEEN RIGHT AND LEFT

FINDING, CHARTING HIS OWN COURSE

FOR THIS MIDDLE AMERICAN ATHENS
THAT HE DREAMED OF.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN
DAMN DISAPPOINTING

NOT TO HAVE HAD THAT HAPPEN.

J. Benton:
I THINK WHAT HURT
MY FATHER THE MOST--

AND HE USED TO TALK
TO ME ABOUT IT--

WAS LONELINESS.

HE SAID IT WAS
HIS GREAT MOTIVATOR.

Ives:
♪ THE SANDS HAVE BEEN WHOOSHED
FROM THE FOOTPRINTS ♪

♪ OF THE STRANGER
ON GALILEE'S SHORE ♪

♪ AND THE VOICE THAT SUBDUED ♪

♪ THE ROUGH BILLOWS ♪

♪ WILL BE HEARD
IN JUDEA NO MORE ♪

♪ BUT THE PATH
OF THAT LONE GALILEAN ♪

♪ WITH JOY I WILL FOLLOW TODAY ♪

♪ THE TOILS OF THE ROAD
WILL SEEM NOTHING ♪

♪ WHEN I GET
TO THE END OF THE WAY... ♪

♪ THE TOILS OF THE ROAD
WILL SEEM NOTHING ♪

♪ WHEN I GET
TO THE END OF THE WAY. ♪

Narrator:
BENTON SPENT NEARLY EVERY SUMMER

IN THE TOWN OF CHILMARK
ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD.

HIS FAMILY HAD GROWN
TO INCLUDE A DAUGHTER, JESSIE.

J. Benton:
HE HAD A WONDERFUL KIND
OF GRUFFLY VOICE.

HE WAS VERY HANDSOME.

HE HAD A VERY RICH FACE

AND WONDERFUL HAIR,
BLACK AS COULD BE.

HE WAS 50 YEARS OLD
WHEN I WAS BORN.

I THOUGHT HE WAS IN HIS 20s.

OTHER PEOPLE'S FATHERS
WERE ALWAYS SO OLD

AND KIND OF DRIED UP.

AND HE WAS SO YOUNG AND VIBRANT.

HE LIKED TO TALK BIG,
AND HE HAD MILLIONS OF FRIENDS

AND... BUT EVERY DAY AT HOME
IT WAS LIKE SILENCE.

WE HAD TO BE QUIET, MY BROTHER
AND I, MOST OF THE TIME.

THE HOUSE WAS VERY STILL
BECAUSE HE WAS VERY INTENSE

AND HE THOUGHT ABOUT THINGS

AND THOUGHT ABOUT HIS PAINTINGS

AND... I USED TO LOVE
TO GO IN THAT STUDIO

BECAUSE OF THE SMELLS
OF THE PAINT

MY FATHER USED
TO WHISTLE WHEN HE PAINTED.

HE'D GO:

( whistles )

ALWAYS, CONSTANTLY.

IT WAS RICH BEING IN THERE

AND I USED TO SIT ON THE FLOOR
AND PAINT MY PICTURES

WHICH HE WOULD PUT UP ON
THE WALLS-- IF THEY WERE GOOD.

Narrator:
WHEN HE WAS NOT PAINTING,
HE MADE MUSIC

WITH HIS FAMILY,
FRIENDS AND STUDENTS.

( cheerful guitar
and flute music )

YOU SEE, THE BENTON THAT
HE BECAME HERE WAS A ROUTINE.

HE GOT UP IN THE MORNING EARLY,
WENT TO HIS STUDIO

NOBODY'S TO COME INTO
HIS STUDIO BY 5:00.

HE THEN COMES OUT, HE MEETS
HIS FRIENDS, HE HAS HIS DRINKS

HE EATS, SO FORTH,
AND GOES TO BED

AND HE DOES THIS
TIME AND TIME...

THOSE HOURS IN HIS STUDIO,
HE IS ALL ALONE.

T.H. Benton:
THE SUBJECT MATTER
THAT FORMED THE CONTENT

OF MOST OF MY PICTURES

JUST DIED OUT
AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

SMALL TOWNS EVERYWHERES
WERE GETTING TO BE

PRACTICALLY THE SAME.

THIS IS WHAT SENT ME CHASING
HERE, BEGINNING IN THE '50s

OUT IN THE LANDSCAPE
OF THE UNITED STATES

TO SEE IF I COULD
FIND THE COUNTRY

NOT THE TOWNS OR THE LIFE,
BUT IN THE COUNTRY

SOMETHING I COULD
IDENTIFY MYSELF WITH.

I FOUND ENOUGH.

HE TOLD REXINE ONE TIME,
HE SAID-- THAT'S MY WIFE--

HE SAID, "DO YOU KNOW
WHAT I LIKE TO DO?

"I LIKE TO FLOAT THE BUFFALO

AND CAMP ON A SANDBAR
AND GET DRUNK."

Narrator:
HE BEGAN TRAVELING AGAIN

SKETCHING THE GREAT PLAINS AND
THE ROCKIES, FLOATING DOWNRIVER

TURNING MORE
AND MORE TO LANDSCAPE.

IN NATURE, HE FOUND NEW
CHALLENGES AND A NEW SERENITY.

J. Benton:
I LOVE HIS MOUNTAIN PICTURES.

HE TOOK MANY YEARS
TO PAINT THE MOUNTAINS.

HE SAID IT WAS THE DAMNEDEST
HARDEST THING HE EVER DID--

MOUNTAINS ARE IMPOSSIBLE
TO PAINT.

AND IT TOOK HIM YEARS
TO FINALLY PAINT A PICTURE

THAT HE WAS SATISFIED WITH.

THAT'S WHY HE PAID NO ATTENTION
TO THESE CRITICS--

HE WOULD GET THINGS HE HAD TO DO

AND WHILE THEY QUIBBLED
OVER "PERSEPHONE"

HE WAS IN WYOMING
PAINTING THE TETONS

FOR THREE, FOUR, FIVE YEARS.

Campanella:
AS HE GROWS OLDER
AND HE GETS INTO DETAIL

HE'S PROJECTING HIMSELF
INTO THE CANVAS.

HE'S NOT PROJECTING HIMSELF
INTO LIFE.

HE GETS LIFE AND HE PUTS IT
DOWN IN HIS EARLY YEARS.

IN HIS LATE YEARS
HE'S PAINTING INTO HIS PICTURE;

HE'S LOSING HIMSELF
IN HIS PAINTING.

WHY? HE'S A LONELY MAN.

THE ONLY FRIEND HE'S GOT
IS HIS PAINTING

AND HE PUTS A LOT INTO IT.

NO ONE ELSE IS ALLOWED
IN HIS PAINTING, IN A SENSE.

THE MODERN WORLD WANTS
TO LOOK INTO THE PAINTING

AND SEE WHAT THEY WANT.

YOU LOOK INTO A BENTON PAINTING

IN THE END YOU'LL SEE
A VERY QUIET, POETIC MAN.

YOU'RE EITHER WITH HIM
OR YOU'RE NOT WITH HIM.

BUT THE DEDICATION TO HIS CRAFT
IS HONORABLE.

TO ME IT'S INSPIRING.

HE WORKED AT HIS BUSINESS,
HE WORKED AT HIS CRAFT.

BY CRAFT I MEAN THE BUSINESS
OF PUTTING DOWN PAINT

DESIGNING THE PICTURE,
COMPLETING THE PICTURE.

IT WAS A DAY-TO-DAY JOB,
THOUGH PEOPLE THINK

IT'S SOME EMOTIONAL THING
COMES OUT OF THE SKY.

TO HIS WIFE, HE'S MAKING
PICTURES TO SELL.

TO HIM, HE'S MAKING
ANOTHER PAINTING

WHICH HE FEELS IS MORE PERFECT
THAN THE ONE BEFORE IT.

Narrator:
"THE ONLY WAY AN ARTIST
CAN PERSONALLY FAIL"

BENTON SAID, "IS TO QUIT WORK."

THOMAS HART BENTON NEVER QUIT.

NEITHER DID RITA.

Woman:
THEY FED EACH OTHER.

THEY KEPT ONE ANOTHER GOING.

Man:
"TOM, STRAIGHTEN YOUR SHOULDERS.

YOU ACT LIKE AN OLD MAN."

HE'D STRAIGHTEN UP.

BUT SHE WAS THE ONE...

SHE'D GO OUT
TO THE STUDIO

WE'D GO OUT THERE
ON SUNDAY

TO SEE WHAT HIS LATEST
PROJECT OR PAINTING

AND SHE WOULD
JUST LOOK AT--

"TOM, YOU'RE
MAGNIFICENT!"

BUT SHE'D JUST
KEEP PUSHING AND
PUSHING HIM, YOU KNOW

AND FEEDING HIS EGO.

AND SHE WOULD ALSO SAY

"IF YOU WANT HIM
TO DO SOMETHING

DON'T TELL HIM
YOU WANT HIM TO DO IT"

BECAUSE, SHE SAID,
"HE'S STUBBORN

"AND IF HE THINKS YOU WANT HIM
TO DO IT, HE WON'T DO IT.

HE WANTS TO GET THE IDEA."

SO SHE WOULD
MANIPULATE AROUND HIM.

T.H. Benton:
NOW I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE YOU

TO MRS. BENTON, RITA

AND JESSIE,
OUR DAUGHTER.

Murrow:
GOOD EVENING, MRS. BENTON.

GOOD EVENING, MR. MURROW.

GOOD EVENING.

Murrow:
MRS. BENTON

ARE YOU CALLED ON
TO ASSIST TOM?

NO, I NEVER ASSIST HIM
IN HIS WORK.

YOU HANDLE THE BUSINESS
AFFAIRS, IS THAT RIGHT?

THAT'S RIGHT--
OCCASIONALLY I MAKE FRAMES.

J. Benton:
SHE NEVER FALTERED

FROM HER ONE PURPOSE,
WHICH WAS HE WAS A GREAT ARTIST

AND SHE SAVED ALL THE MONEY
AND ALL THE PAINTINGS.

SOMETIMES MY FATHER WOULDN'T
LIKE A PAINTING

SO HE'D PAINT ANOTHER
PAINTING OVER IT.

BUT SHE'D RUN IN THE STUDIO
AND STEAL THEM

BEFORE HE COULD DO THAT
SO SHE COULD SELL THEM.

I DON'T THINK HE WOULD
HAVE LIVED WITHOUT HER.

THE INCOMES, OF COURSE,
WOULD VARY YEAR TO YEAR.

SOMETIMES WE WERE VERY POOR.

SOMETIMES WE HAD LOTS OF MONEY
IF WE SOLD A PAINTING

BUT THE LIFE IN THE HOUSE
NEVER CHANGED

AND THAT WAS MY MOTHER'S GENIUS.

SHE KEPT IT ALL SMOOTH.

Man:
HE DIDN'T LIKE
THE BUSINESS PART.

RITA TOOK CARE OF THAT.

IF YOU WANTED TO BUY A PAINTING,
HE'D SAY, "I DON'T DO THAT.

"YOU WANT A PAINTING,
YOU TALK TO RITA.

SHE MIGHT SELL YOU ONE."

Woman:
SHE ALWAYS WATCHED OVER TOM
AND TOOK CARE OF HIM

AND PROTECTED HIM.

AND ON THIS PARTICULAR OCCASION

A MAN CAME TO THE ISLAND
AND CAME TO THEIR HOUSE AND SAID

"OH, MRS. BENTON, I WANT
SO MUCH TO BECOME A PART

"OF THE ART COLONY
ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD.

COULD YOU TELL ME ABOUT IT?"

AND RITA LOOKED AT HIM
RATHER COLDLY AND SAID

"THERE IS NO ARTIST ON THIS
ISLAND BUT THOMAS HART BENTON"

WHICH TOOK CARE
OF THAT VERY COMPLETELY.

Murrow:
TELL ME, WHAT THOMAS HART BENTON
CREATION IS IN THE WORKS NOW?

WELL, THERE'S PLENTY
IN THE WORKS.

IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT,
YOU FOLLOW ME.

Murrow:
GOOD.

JESSIE AND RITA,
WE'LL SEE YOU LATER.

WE'RE OUT TO THE STUDIO.

LOOK OUT, JOE.

Murrow:
HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU SPEND
IN YOUR STUDIO?

T.H. Benton:
WELL, I SPEND ALL
THE DAYLIGHT HOURS THERE, ED.

EVERY DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

I HAVE TO TO GET THE STUFF DONE.

Murrow:
DID YOU HAVE YOUNG
APPRENTICE ARTISTS HELP YOU?

T.H. Benton:
I HAVE NO APPRENTICE ARTISTS.

YOUNG ARTISTS NOW
ARE TAUGHT IN SCHOOL

THAT THEIR INDIVIDUAL SOULS
ARE SO IMPORTANT

THEY MIGHT DAMAGE THEM IF THEY
HELPED AN OLD FELLOW LIKE ME--

OLD-FASHIONED PAINTER.

THAT'S THE GREAT TROUBLE
WITH MODERN TEACHING--

EVERYBODY HAS
TOO MUCH OF A SOUL.

Murrow:
THIS STUDIO REALLY
LOOKS WORKED IN.

IT IS WORKED IN.

TWO PROJECTS, BIG PROJECTS
GOING ON HERE AT ONCE.

HERE IS ONE--
THE CARTOON, RATHER--

FOR THE NEW YORK STATE
POWER AUTHORITY.

THIS PICTURE FINISHED
WILL BE SEVEN FEET HIGH

AND 20 FEET LONG.

OVER HERE,
YOU SEE ONE ALSO IN PROCESS

FOR THE TRUMAN MEMORIAL LIBRARY.

THIS IS 20 FEET HIGH AND
32 FEET LONG WHEN IT'S FINISHED.

SO THESE ARE THINGS
THAT COST YOU A LITTLE WORK.

Narrator:
IN 1959, HARRY S. TRUMAN
ASKED BENTON TO PAINT A MURAL

FOR HIS PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
AT INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI.

TRUMAN CALLED BENTON "THE BEST
DAMN PAINTER IN AMERICA."

J. Benton:
I NEVER KNEW HIM

BUT HE WAS LIKE
AN OLD-TIME MISSOURI POLITICIAN

AND MY FATHER WAS AN OLD-TIME
MISSOURI POLITICIAN, TOO.

YOU KNOW, HE WAS SO
INTERESTED IN POLITICS

THAT I THINK I KNEW
MORE ABOUT POLITICS

BY THE TIME I WAS A TEENAGER
THAN I KNEW ABOUT ART.

Kramer:
TRUMAN THOUGHT HIGHLY
OF BENTON, VERY HIGHLY

AND HE ALSO DESCRIBED ABSTRACT
PAINTING AS SCRAMBLED EGGS.

I ADMIRED HARRY TRUMAN
VERY MUCH AS A PRESIDENT

BUT HE'D BE ONE OF
THE LAST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD

WHOSE AESTHETIC JUDGMENTS
I'D TAKE SERIOUSLY.

Small:
HE INTERESTED TOM TREMENDOUSLY

BECAUSE HE WAS
A GREAT READER OF HISTORY

AND HE KNEW
HIS UNITED STATES HISTORY

BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS
AND SIDEWAYS

AND THEY BOTH LIKED
THE SAME KIND OF WHISKEY

AND THEY LIKED
EACH OTHER VERY MUCH.

T.H. Benton:
YOU DON'T GENERALLY SEE
A MURAL ALL AT ONCE

OR YOU MAY SEE IT ALL AT ONCE

BUT YOU'RE LIKELY TO EXPLOIT IT

BY LOOKING AT ONE PART
AND FOLLOWING IT ALONG.

YOU MUST DESIGN A MURAL

KNOWING THAT THE EYE IS GOING
TO BE MOVING OVER THESE SPACES

AND YOU ARRANGE IT SO THE EYE
FOLLOWS CERTAIN LINES

AND YOU HAVE
A SENSE OF UNITY

WHEN YOU GET THROUGH WITH IT.

Narrator:
THE TRUMAN MURAL
MADE BENTON BIG NEWS AGAIN

AND HE LOVED IT.

HE TOURED EUROPE, ATTENDED
NEW SHOWS OF HIS OLD WORK

WON ELECTION TO THE AMERICAN
ACADEMY OF ARTS AND LETTERS

AND LEFT THE BANQUET

BECAUSE HE DIDN'T LIKE
ITS PRESIDENT'S SPEECH.

ASKED TO LECTURE ON THE AMERICAN
ARTIST, HE STRODE ON STAGE

ANNOUNCED THAT
"THE ONLY AMERICAN ARTIST

THAT INTERESTS ME
IS THOMAS HART BENTON"

AND SAT DOWN.

BUT HE DID MAKE HIS PEACE WITH
THE MUSEUM WHICH HAD FIRED HIM.

Man:
I SAID, "IN ANY DIVORCE
THERE ARE TWO SIDES."

"WELL," HE SAID, "I BUY THAT."

I SAID, "THEY'D LIKE TO MAKE UP,
AND MAYBE YOU WOULD TOO.

I'D LIKE TO GET YOU TOGETHER."

HE TURNED TO ME AND HE SAID

"OKAY, JUST BRING
THE SONS OF BITCHES OVER."

Narrator:
HE COULD NOW EVEN AFFORD
QUALIFIED SYMPATHY

FOR THE ABSTRACTIONISTS WHO HAD
SO RECENTLY ECLIPSED HIM.

"THE HUMAN FIGURE IS COMING
BACK INTO FASHION"

HE TOLD A REPORTER

"AND WHAT ARE ALL THOSE SONS
OF BITCHES GOING TO DO NOW?

THEY NEVER LEARNED HOW TO DRAW."

PARTICULARLY DURING THE YEARS
OF POLLOCK'S GREAT TRIUMPHS

BENTON WAS VERY MUCH
ON THE ASH HEAP

BUT I THINK
HE'S BEEN COMING UP SINCE.

I THINK HE'S
AN INTERESTING PAINTING.

REPRESENTATION IS BECOMING
RESPECTABLE AGAIN.

Narrator:
AT 82, HE PAINTED
TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY JOPLIN

AND WAS HONORED
BY A "TOM BENTON DAY"

IN THE TOWN WHERE HE FIRST
EARNED MONEY AS AN ARTIST.

"OLD AGE IS A WONDERFUL THING,"
HE TOLD THE CROWD.

"YOU OUTLIVE YOUR ENEMIES."

IN 1974, BENTON UNDERTOOK
ONE MORE MURAL

FOR THE COUNTRY MUSIC
FOUNDATION OF AMERICA.

T.H. Benton:
WELL, I DON'T THINK
THE ARTIST CAN AT ANY TIME

HELP BUT EXPRESSING
HIS OWN INNER SELF.

I THINK THE LESS ATTENTION
HE PAYS TO THAT

THE BETTER OFF HE IS, BECAUSE
HE CAN'T HELP THAT ANYHOW.

IT WOULD BE MY FEELING
ABOUT THINGS

THAT IF HE CAN GET OUT
OF RETIREMENT

AND INTO THE WORLD OF MEN,
HE'S BETTER OFF.

Small:
HE ALWAYS WENT TO THE STUDIO
AFTER DINNER IN THE EVENING

AND ON THIS PARTICULAR EVENING

HIS WIFE THOUGHT THAT HE HAD
STAYED AN AWFULLY LONG TIME.

SHE WENT OUT.

AND HE HAD SAID
BEFORE HE LEFT THE HOUSE

HE SAID, "I THINK IT'S FINISHED,
I'M GOING TO SIGN IT TONIGHT."

WHEN SHE WENT OUT

HE WAS LYING BESIDE
THE RIGHT-HAND LOWER CORNER

WITH HIS SPECTACLES ON,
BUT HE HAD NOT SIGNED IT.

HE APPARENTLY DIED JUST
AS HE WAS PREPARING TO SIGN IT.

HE DIED SO BEAUTIFULLY,
YOU KNOW.

HE WENT OUT TO SEE HIS MURAL

AND HE HAD JUST
FINISHED IT THAT DAY

AND HE WAS GOING OUT TO SIGN IT

AND HE DECIDED NOT TO SIGN IT,
OR HE DIDN'T GET TO SIGN IT

BECAUSE, AS THE DOCTOR SAID,
HE WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.

I WAS REALLY UPSET.

IN FACT, WHEN THEY
INTERRUPTED THE THING

AND THEY SAID,
"WE'RE SORRY TO ANNOUNCE..."

I SAID TO MY WIFE, "TOM DIED."

AND HE DID.

( sobs quietly )

NOTHING LOST, NOTHING LOST.

TOM BENTON FINISHED A PAINTING

CAME IN THE HOUSE,
HAD HIS DINNER

AND WENT OUT
TO SIT IN HIS LITTLE CHAIR

AND CHECKED HIS PAINTING
AND FELL OVER DEAD.

IT'S AS COMPLETE A LIFE
AS YOU CAN HAVE.

Narrator:
THOMAS HART BENTON DIED
ON JANUARY 19, 1975.

HE WAS 85 YEARS OLD.

Man:
I CALLED RITA.

I SAID, "I THOUGHT THAT TOM
WAS GOING TO LIVE FOREVER

OR HE'D OUTLIVE US ALL."

AND I HEAR HER COME BACK
WITH THIS FURIOUS LINE--

"HE WASN'T SUPPOSED
TO HAVE DIED!

HE WASN'T SUPPOSED
TO HAVE DIED..."

J. Benton:
OH, MY MOTHER.

IT WAS TERRIBLE.

SHE DIED THREE MONTHS LATER.

SHE COULDN'T--
SHE COULDN'T LIVE WITHOUT HIM.

O'Maley:
WE'RE HERE TO CELEBRATE

THE 98th BIRTHDAY
OF THE LATE THOMAS HART BENTON

WHICH WE HAVE DONE EVERY YEAR
SINCE HIS DEATH.

J. Benton:
THE BENTON BOURBON
BIRTHDAY BASH--

IT EMBARRASSES ME A LITTLE BIT.

ALL HIS FRIENDS AND
I GUESS ADMIRERS GET TOGETHER

AND HAVE A PARTY,
AND THEY ALL GO TO KELLY'S BAR

WHICH I DON'T THINK
MY FATHER EVER WENT TO.

MY FATHER HATED BARS.

HE LIKED HIS PAINTINGS IN BARS.

( banjo playing,
crowd chattering )

♪ LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
LISTEN TO MY SONG ♪

♪ SING INTO THE NIGHT THOUGH
YOU MIGHT BELIEVE IT'S WRONG ♪

♪ MAY MAKE YOU MAD
BUT I MEAN NO HARM ♪

♪ JUST A BLOCK OF LETTUCE
ON THE BENTON FARM ♪

♪ HARD TIMES IN THE COUNTRY
DOWN ON BENTON'S FARM. ♪

( banjo and fiddle interlude )

HELLO.

Man:
WHY ARE
YOU HERE?

WE'RE HERE FOR THE BENTON BASH.

♪ HARD TIMES IN THE COUNTRY,
OUT ON BENTON'S FARM ♪

♪ HARD TIMES IN THE COUNTRY,
DOWN ON BENTON'S FARM. ♪

( song ends;
applause and whistling )

IT'S ALWAYS DIFFICULT TO SUM UP
THE WORK OF ANY ARTIST

WHO HAS DIFFERENT FACES--

THAT HE WAS
A REMARKABLE DESIGNER

A COMPOSER IN FORM;

THAT THERE WAS AN ELEMENT
OF REALITY IN HIS WORK

OF SUBSTANCE, OF WEIGHT;

A FEELING THAT
HIS ART EXISTED PHYSICALLY

AND THAT, TO ME, IS ONE
OF THE GREATEST ATTRIBUTES

PAINTING CAN HAVE.

WELL, OF COURSE, BEAUTY IS
IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

BUT HE PAINTED BEAUTY.

IT COULD BE AN OLD FARMER,
IT COULD BE HOGS

IT COULD BE
AN OLD BEAT-UP STEAMBOAT

BUT HE SAW THE BEAUTY OF THE...
OH, THE NEED OF THESE THINGS.

THERE ISN'T ANY BEAUTY
UNLESS THERE ARE FULFILLED NEEDS

AND THERE IS NEED
FOR PEOPLE THAT PICK COTTON

THERE WAS A NEED FOR PEOPLE

THAT WENT AROUND
DOING MINSTREL SHOWS.

PEOPLE NEEDED THAT,
AND HE WAS THERE

AND HE SAW THE BEAUTY OF IT,
AND HE RECORDED IT FOR US.

I THINK THAT PEOPLE
HAD GREAT RESPECT FOR TOM.

MAYBE THEY DIDN'T ALWAYS
LIKE WHAT HE DID

BUT SOMEHOW THERE WAS
A FEELING OF RESPECT

FOR WHAT HE REPRESENTED
IN PAINTING

AND THAT WAS LASTING.

THAT WAS GOOD.

A PAINTER DOESN'T
MAKE UP STORIES.

A REAL PAINTER, HE GOES OUT,
HE SEES AMERICA.

HE DOESN'T TALK AMERICA,
HE SEES AMERICA.

THE CRITICS TALK AMERICA

THE CRITICS TALK ALL THE ARTS
SINCE WORLD WAR II.

HE SEES IT.

NUMBER ONE, TO UNDERSTAND BENTON
YOU HAVE TO SEE AMERICA, TOO.

NOW, SHORTLY AFTER WE CAME HERE
WE WENT DOWN TO ARKANSAS

AND BY JESUS, I LOOKED AROUND
AND I SAID

"BENTONISM-- THIS IS BENTON.

HE DIDN'T DO A DAMN THING,
HE PAINTED WHAT HE SAW."

Man:
HOW SHALL WE REMEMBER BENTON?

I THINK WE WILL REMEMBER
TOM BENTON

AS AN ARTIST
WHO GOT AWAY WITH MURDER.

( laughs )

Marling:
I LIKE TOM BENTON'S FEISTINESS.

I LIKE TOM BENTON'S
ENGAGEMENT WITH LIFE.

I LIKE TOM BENTON'S
LUST FOR LIVING.

I LIKE HIS CARRYING ON.

I LIKE HIS EXCESSES.

THAT'S TREMENDOUSLY AMERICAN.

Interviewer:
IF YOU COULD
LIVE, INHABIT

ONE BENTON
PAINTING

WHICH PAINTING
WOULD YOU, LLOYD
GOODRICH, INHABIT?

"PERSEPHONE"-- AFTER ALL,
WHO COULD RESIST THAT GIRL?

CAPTIONS COPYRIGHT
KENNETH LAUREN BURNS
AND WGBH EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION