Skip to main contentProvenanceThe artist
Robert E. Neuse, New York, New York acquired from the above
By descent in the Neuse family, New York, New York
Private Collector (Heritage Auctions, sale American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture Signature Auction - New York #5149, December 5, 2013)
Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois
Published References
Thomas Hart Benton
(American, 1889–1975)
Slave Master with Slaves (Study for The American Historical Epic)
c. 1924-27
Black lithographic crayon and pen and black ink, over graphite, on heavyweight, heavily textured cream wove paper
Sheet: 15 1/2 × 17 1/2 in. (39.4 × 44.5 cm)
Credit LineTerra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Art Acquistion Endowment Fund
Object number2013.2
CopyrightArt © T.H. Benton and R.P. Benton Testamentary Trusts/UMB Bank Trustee/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
SignedLower right, in brush and black ink: Benton
Interpretation
Thomas Hart Benton’s Slave Master with Slaves is a rare drawing related to the painting Slaves (TF 2003.4) from his American Historical Epic series (1919–1928). As a preparatory process for his murals, Benton utilized clay and live models to create figure drawings and cartoons of complete scenes, which could indicate that Slave Master with Slaves is a study for the final painting. However, it is now believed to be a preparatory drawing for an unrealized lithographic series by Benton based on his American Historical Epic murals, and thus produced after the Slaves panel.
Benton typically employed pencil and gouache for his mural studies, whereas the use of lithographic crayon with touches of ink attests to the drawing’s likely origin as a print study. Its prominent chiaroscuro suggests that Benton was experimenting with techniques for creating an image that would visually convey the painting’s power in the stark black-and-white print of the lithographic process. The composition is nearly identical to that of the painting, indicating the drawing was likely produced after the painting in an attempt to replicate the final arrangement of the scene, further evidenced by the lack of any visible underdrawing.
Benton engaged with the medium of lithography throughout his career. The Station, his first lithograph, was produced in 1929 after the 1928 painting The Train Station. And though Benton had ceased creating new panels for American Historical Epic by 1928, the following year he began the project of reproducing the series as lithographs. His second lithograph, Historical Composition (1929), is almost identical to the painting Retribution (1924–25), panel five from Chapter I of the series. Benton only produced two artist’s proofs of the image, explaining that the lithograph was, “Part of project for doing Amer. History in lithos. Never carried out. Only one proof pulled.” Given the evidence, it is more likely that Benton’s drawing Slave Master with Slaves was created in preparation for a print that was never executed.
Benton’s lithographic practice became an important part of his oeuvre as he continued to be interested in translating his most iconic compositions into printed images for widespread distribution. In the case of Huck Finn (1936) and The Race (also titled Homeward Bound (1942), Benton created both prints (in reverse) after his paintings of the same subjects, which were published by Associated American Artists, New York in editions of 100 and 250 impressions, respectively.
Benton typically employed pencil and gouache for his mural studies, whereas the use of lithographic crayon with touches of ink attests to the drawing’s likely origin as a print study. Its prominent chiaroscuro suggests that Benton was experimenting with techniques for creating an image that would visually convey the painting’s power in the stark black-and-white print of the lithographic process. The composition is nearly identical to that of the painting, indicating the drawing was likely produced after the painting in an attempt to replicate the final arrangement of the scene, further evidenced by the lack of any visible underdrawing.
Benton engaged with the medium of lithography throughout his career. The Station, his first lithograph, was produced in 1929 after the 1928 painting The Train Station. And though Benton had ceased creating new panels for American Historical Epic by 1928, the following year he began the project of reproducing the series as lithographs. His second lithograph, Historical Composition (1929), is almost identical to the painting Retribution (1924–25), panel five from Chapter I of the series. Benton only produced two artist’s proofs of the image, explaining that the lithograph was, “Part of project for doing Amer. History in lithos. Never carried out. Only one proof pulled.” Given the evidence, it is more likely that Benton’s drawing Slave Master with Slaves was created in preparation for a print that was never executed.
Benton’s lithographic practice became an important part of his oeuvre as he continued to be interested in translating his most iconic compositions into printed images for widespread distribution. In the case of Huck Finn (1936) and The Race (also titled Homeward Bound (1942), Benton created both prints (in reverse) after his paintings of the same subjects, which were published by Associated American Artists, New York in editions of 100 and 250 impressions, respectively.
Robert E. Neuse, New York, New York acquired from the above
By descent in the Neuse family, New York, New York
Private Collector (Heritage Auctions, sale American Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture Signature Auction - New York #5149, December 5, 2013)
Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois
Published References
Henry Adams, Thomas Hart Benton: Drawing from Life (Seattle: Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle in association with Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, 1990), Text p. 129.
“Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975). Slave Master with Slaves (Study for The American Historical Epic), circa 1924,” Heritage Auctions (December 5, 2013):120-121. Text p. 120, ill. p.121 (color).
“Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975). Slave Master with Slaves (Study for The American Historical Epic), circa 1924,” Heritage Auctions (December 5, 2013):120-121. Text p. 120, ill. p.121 (color).