A Social History of the State of Missouri (detail) - Hay Thrower 1936

Here's a detail from Thomas Hart Benton's mural, showing daily life in early 20th-century Missouri. Just look at those figures, so strong and full of life, they almost pop out of the wall. I can imagine Benton studying those farmers, their clothes, their tools, their actions. He’s noticing how they throw the hay, how they handle the pitchfork, and how they look when they sit to read the paper. He must have been thinking about the weight and the heft of the hay, the color of it, and the strength it takes to get it from the field to the barn. Those spiraling forms! They create a real sense of rhythm and energy in the painting. The way Benton uses color, it's like he’s singing a song about the land, about the people, about the sweat and toil of daily life. It reminds me a little of some of those European modernists, but Benton's got his own thing going on, an American swagger. Painters are always in conversation with each other. Benton was looking at the world, looking at other paintings, and finding his own voice. I think that's something to celebrate.