Pigs
This sketch is one of dozens of drawings that Benton used to compose his mural America Today, also in the Museum’s collection (2012.478a–j). Benton included a pig and her piglets at the center of the Midwest mural panel. Although hogs were the most important livestock of the region, the reference also had personal significance for Benton. His maternal grandfather, whom the artist admired for his resiliency and resourcefulness, had settled in Missouri in 1854 and attempted to raise hogs before moving to Texas.
Artwork Details
- Title: Pigs
- Artist: Thomas Hart Benton (American, Neosho, Missouri 1889–1975 Kansas City, Missouri)
- Date: 1920s
- Medium: Graphite on paper
- Dimensions: 9 1/8 × 13 1/4 in. (23.2 × 33.7 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Gift of AXA Equitable, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.425.18
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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