Thomas Hart Benton and the Indiana Murals

by Kathleen A. Foster

Decorating the Indiana hall at the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago was a bold and colorful sequence of paintings by American muralist Thomas Hart Benton depicting the social, economic, and cultural history of the Hoosier state from mound building to the 1930s. In this dramatic 250-foot mural, which has been on display at the Bloomington campus of Indiana University since 1940, Benton sought to create art that spoke to a mainstream audience in a realist style. This book features a full-color gatefold which represents the flow of the murals along with a portfolio of color reproductions of the 22 existing panels. Accompanying essays trace the history of the murals' creation and their installation at Indiana University, the visual narrative that Benton invented, the artist's method as seen in a series of preparatory drawings, and a detailed account of the conservation of the murals.

208 pages, Paperback

First published August 15, 2001

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to recently learn more about the Thomas Hart Benton murals that I remembered being fascinated with in the IU Auditorium and a few other spots, so I read "Thomas Hart Benton and the Indiana Murals." I learned that these murals had a fascinating past. They were painted by Thomas Hart Benton in the early 1930s, for the 1933 World’s Fair Indiana Exhibit in Chicago.

The inclusion of the Ku Klux Klan in the murals was controversial even at the time. Benton, a liberal Democrat, wanted it included, claiming that it was part of the state’s history. He got a group of Democrats to come in and convince his boss that it should indeed be part of the murals — the Democrats were eager for this because they felt that the KKK would hurt Republicans.
The Indiana Exhibit at the World’s Fair was unique among all the state exhibits. Most included “canned peaches and artificial waterfalls” — busy and product-based — while Indiana’s was just a huge, empty hall with these 12-foot murals displayed around the ceiling of a 28-foot high walls depicting the state’s cultural and economic history. What did visitors think? A publicist noted that 50% liked the display, 40% disliked it, and 10% had no reaction.
Benton was a controversial choice to paint the murals. He was a New Yorker, and many felt a Hoosier should have done the paintings. He painted the display in an amazingly short time — under 3 months. He completed 38 square feet of painting each day, boasting that he never went over his work or re-did any of it.
These murals established Benton’s fame, and soon after painting them he was hired to paint a series of murals for the Missouri State Capitol which have a very similar look.

I took my time reading this book. For several evenings, I read aloud about one panel each evening after dinner to the family. The book includes large color replicas of the entire mural, including fold-out color pages.

A fascinating look into Indiana’s past!

[J Haeske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book, with lots of fascinating information about the background of this remarkable project. The reproductions of the murals throughout the book and especially in the fold-out section are excellent too. Now I just have to make it out to Bloomington to see them for myself.