[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 25, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1068]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING THOMAS HART BENTON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BILLY LONG

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 25, 2014

  Mr. LONG. Mr. Speaker, a famous Missouri artist will be on display in 
August in a national outdoor show called Art Everywhere US.
  Missouri's Thomas Hart Benton, 1889-1975, is a well-known artist and 
quintessential painter of the American experience.
  Benton was born in Neosho, Mo., into a family of lawyer-politicians 
who, in Benton's words, ``drank heavily, ate heartily and talked long 
over fat cigars.'' His great-uncle had been a United States Senator; 
his father was a Congressman.
  As a teenager, Benton was a cartoonist for the Joplin American 
newspaper.
  In 1934, Benton was featured on one of the earliest color covers of 
Time magazine, which praised him as one of a gifted trio of regional 
painters--including Grant Wood and John Steuart Curry--in touch with 
the spirit of America.
  One of Benton's greatest works is his mural at the Missouri State 
Capitol: ``A Social History of Missouri.'' When Benton published his 
autobiography in 1937, writer Sinclair Lewis noted, ``Here's a rare 
thing, a painter who can write.''
  In August, Benton's ``Poker Night'' will be displayed nationwide via 
Art Everywhere US. Completed in 1948, this painting was based on a 
scene from the play ``A Streetcar Named Desire,'' which was made into a 
movie.
  Art Everywhere US is a collaboration between leading museums and the 
Outdoor Advertising Association of America. Earlier this year, leading 
museums identified 100 great American artworks and submitted that list 
for online public voting. On June 21, the museums announced the 58 
artworks--paintings and photography--that will appear in August on 
donated advertising spaces in airports, malls, and movie theaters, as 
well as billboards and buses.
  The Art Everywhere US portfolio spans American history, from John 
Singleton Copley's 1778 painting ``Watson and the Shark'' to 
contemporary art.
  Among the top vote-getters was Grant Wood's ``American Gothic,'' 
inspired by the artist's visit to a small town in Iowa in 1930. Other 
artists in this national show include Edward Hopper, Mary Cassatt, 
Georgia O'Keeffe, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, James Whistler, 
and Andy Warhol.
  Missouri is honored that Neosho-born artist Thomas Hart Benton is 
part of this stellar group and that millions of Americans will be able 
to see his work this summer, along with other masterpieces.

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