Coal Station
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). After his father’s death in 1924, Benton explored the United States by car. He said, "I traveled without interests beyond those of getting material for my pictures." In New York City in 1929, he exhibited a group of drawings made during visits to the coal regions of Pennsylvania, New York, and Alabama. These drawings, including this example, became the foundation for the Coal mural and for a series of paintings examining the plight of miners.
Artwork Details
- Title: Coal Station
- Artist: Thomas Hart Benton (American, Neosho, Missouri 1889–1975 Kansas City, Missouri)
- Date: 1920s
- Medium: Pen and black ink and watercolor over graphite on paper
- Dimensions: 8 3/4 × 10 7/8 in. (22.2 × 27.7 cm)
- Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Gift of AXA Equitable, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.425.26
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
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Thomas Hart Benton
1944
Thomas Hart Benton
1943
Thomas Hart Benton
1934
Thomas Hart Benton
1939
Thomas Hart Benton
1937
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