Thomas Hart Benton (1889–1975)
3616 Belleview Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64111
816-931-5722
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Thomas Hart Benton‘s life is present in both his home and his paintings, and both are preserved at Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site. A trip to the home and studio of the renowned painter, sculptor, lecturer and writer offers a glimpse into how the talented Benton lived and worked.
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“The only way an artist can personally fail is to quit work.”
— Thomas Hart Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (1889–1975)
Born in Neosho, Missouri in 1889, Thomas Hart Benton pursued art instruction in Chicago and Paris and then moved in New York City where he lived and taught until 1935. His students included a young Jackson Pollock. Benton had a gift for painting everyday life and rose to fame during the Great Depression. He moved to Kansas City in 1935 where he remained until his death in 1975.
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Thomas Hart Benton was a Missouri native, born in 1889. After studying at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Académie Julian in Paris, he settled in New York City in 1912. His rise to fame began in earnest in the years between 1930 and 1936, when he completed murals for the New School for Social Research, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, and the Missouri State Capitol in quick succession.
His vibrant, energetic murals were not without their critics; Benton reflected, “The critics said it wasn’t subtle. I said America wasn’t subtle. They said my paintings were brash and not in good taste. I could only point out that America was brash and not in good taste.” He gained fame as a Regionalist and American Scene painter for his ability to capture everyday American life. His art was so appealing to the American public because he traveled the country and authentically captured what he saw. Benton stated, “I was after a picture of America in its entirety. So I travelled the land, east and west, north and south.”
He moved to Kansas City in 1935 to teach as the head of the painting department at the Kansas City Art Institute. Benton purchased the house which is the current historic site in 1939. There, he helped raise his two children with his wife, Rita. The property was built in 1903 in the historic Roanoke neighborhood in midtown Kansas City. It is made from cedar shingles and native limestone and boasts four finished floors. Rita used their home as a gallery to sell his art and their friends, neighbors and colleagues often gathered there for a good meal and music. Benton converted part of the old carriage house on the property into his art studio, where he continued to produce paintings and murals until his death. Benton was putting the finishing touches on a mural for the Country Music Hall of Fame when he died from a heart attack in his studio on January 19, 1975.
