Unemployment, Radical Protest, Speed 1932

Thomas Hart Benton made this painting of Unemployment, Radical Protest and Speed using egg tempera and oil on linen, and it’s a wild ride. Benton's got this whole process thing going on, where he's not just painting a picture, he's building up layers. Look at the way he's rendered those figures, all muscle and movement, packed into a really shallow space. The colors are earthy, but pushed, like he’s juicing up reality. I find myself drawn to the woman in the car, her eyes tilted to the sky; Benton has used a tiny brush to define the curl of her hair and the soft highlight on her cheek, building the light, layer by layer. Benton really knew how to tell a story, alluding to social and political currents, and this piece reminds me a little of Diego Rivera's murals, but with a distinctly American flavor. Like all great art, it embraces ambiguity, allowing us to bring our own experiences to the mix.