Oil Derricks

Thomas Hart Benton American

Not on view

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). Oil derricks appear in the Changing West mural panel. The subject derives from Benton’s 1927 visit to Borger, Texas, a frontier town in the Panhandle that was transformed by the discovery of oil nearby. This study of the tower used to hold and guide the drill above an oil well became central to the composition of the mural.

Oil Derricks, Thomas Hart Benton (American, Neosho, Missouri 1889–1975 Kansas City, Missouri), Pen and black ink and brown watercolor over graphite on paper

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