THOMAS HART BENTONAnother major Regionalist artist
was Thomas Hart Benton(1889–1975). Whereas Wood focused
his attention on Iowa, Benton turned to scenes from his native Mis-
souri. He produced one of his major works, a series of murals titled
A Social History of the State of Missouri,in 1936 for the Missouri
State Capitol. The murals depict a collection of images from the
state’s true and legendary history, such as primitive agriculture,
horse trading, a vigilante lynching, and an old-fashioned political
meeting. Other scenes portray the mining industry, grain elevators,
Native Americans, and family life. One segment,Pioneer Days and
Early Settlers (FIG. 35-66), shows a white man using whiskey as a
bartering tool with a Native American (at left), along with scenes
documenting the building of Missouri. Part documentary and part
invention, Benton’s images include both positive and negative as-
pects of Missouri’s history, as these examples illustrate. Although the
public perceived the Regionalists as dedicated to glorifying Midwest-
ern life, that belief distorted their aims. Indeed, Grant Wood ob-
served, “your true regionalist is not a mere eulogist; he may even be
a severe critic.”^55 Benton, like Wood, championed a visually accessi-
ble style, but he developed a highly personal aesthetic that included
complex compositions, a fluidity of imagery, and simplified figures
depicted with a rubbery distortion.JOSÉ CLEMENTE OROZCODuring the period between the
two world wars, three Mexican painters achieved international re-
nown for their work both in Mexico and in the United States. The el-
dest of the three was José Clemente Orozco(1883–1949), one of a
group of Mexican artists determined to base their art on the indige-
nous history and culture existing in Mexico before Europeans arrived.
The movement these artists formed was part of the idealistic rethink-
ing of society that occurred in conjunction with the Mexican Revolu-
tion (1910–1920) and the lingering political turmoil of the 1920s.35-66Thomas
Hart Benton,Pioneer
Days and Early Settlers,
State Capitol, Jefferson
City, Missouri, 1936.
Mural. Art ©
T. H. Benton and
R. P. Benton Testa-
mentary Trusts/UMB
Bank Trustee/Licensed
by VAGA, New York.
Benton’s mural for
Missouri’s State Capitol
is one of the major
Regionalist artworks.
Part documentary and
part invention, the
images include both
positive and negative
aspects of state history.
35-67José Clemente Orozco,
Epic of American Civilization: Hispano-
America (panel 16), Baker Memorial
Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover,
New Hampshire, ca. 1932–1934. Fresco.
Copyright © Orozco Valladares Family/
SOMAAP, Mexico/Licensed by VAGA,
New York.
One of 24 panels depicting the history of
Mexico from ancient times, this scene
focuses on a heroic peasant soldier of the
Mexican Revolution surrounded by sym-
bolic figures of his oppressors.
958 Chapter 35 EUROPE AND AMERICA, 1900 TO 1945
35-67ATAMAYO,
Friend of the
Birds,1944.