THOMAS HART BENTON at AUCTION: SOTHEBY'S

Sotheby's 2017

Thomas Hart Benton based Across the Curve of the Road on a sketch he executed during a trip he took through the South in 1938 to immerse himself in the culture of rural America. Belonging to a distinguished Southern collection – along with nine other works in the sale including strong examples by Andrew Wyeth and Charles Ephraim Burchfield – Across the Curve of the Road, expresses the clear dynamism with which Benton captured the unique yet familiar quality of the southern landscape (estimate $1/1.5 million).

Sotheby’s 3 December 2009

Thomas Hart Benton’s Little Brown Jug, circa 1941 (est. $600/800,000), which draws inspiration from Glen Miller’s 1939 recording of a song of the same name. Music became was great passion for Benton, and scenes incorporating musicians, dancing and vignettes based on popular folk songs were often subjects of his canvases.

Sotheby’s May 21, 2009

Thomas Hart Benton’s Sea Phantasy I (est. $400/600,000) was painted for a sports den commissioned around 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Albert Briggs. Briggs was an avid fisherman, and recruited Benton to create a room filled with sea motifs to compliment his trophy fish. Sea Phantasy I was one of four large wall panels the artist created, in addition to a three-part rug and a decorative folding screen. The abstracted forms and brightly colored compositions from this commission are a reflection of Benton’s continued interest in the structure and composition of Japanese prints as well as the Synchromist movement, which was based on the belief that the colors in a painting can be orchestrated in the same harmonious way that a composer arranges notes in a symphony.

SOTHEBY'S 2014