Changing West 1931

Thomas Hart Benton’s ‘Changing West’ feels almost geological, like a landscape shifted into place with deep, saturated colours and forms bulging with stories of the past and future. I can imagine Benton, wrestling with this painting, trying to pin down all the layers of history, progress, and change colliding in the American West. I see the strong lines of a welder juxtaposed against oil rigs and cowboys, the old West and the new West, coexisting, often uneasily. It’s like Benton’s asking, what does progress really mean? What gets lost or left behind? The paint feels both dense and flowing, guiding us through scenes of industry, ranching, and portraits. The painting pulses with energy, pushing against the boundaries of a single narrative. The forms morph and shift, creating a sense of constant transformation that is full of tension. We're witnessing Benton grappling with how to represent the complexities and contradictions of a place in constant flux. We can feel his own anxieties, and yet we also feel a sense of wonder and maybe even a touch of melancholy.