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The lithograph Huck Finn is marked by loose lines and rich tonal gradations. It was one of several produced in conjunction with Benton’s successful Missouri State Capital Building Mural from 1936. The image illustrates two of Twain’s famous characters, Huck and Jim, floating down the Mississippi River on their raft. The affectionate relationship between the two is evident from their shared gaze and linked gestures. In the left foreground Jim stands holding a fish looking down at Huck. A boldly diagonal oar points to a scene in the background; three men labor on a raft while a steamboat disgorges great quantities of smoke. Along the right edge a turtle floats on a log.
The lithograph reveals not only Benton’s interest in Twain, but also his fascination with technology and the machine age. He creates a stark contrast between the billowing smoke of the commercial steamboat and the simple forms of the rafts on the river. Throughout his career, he repeatedly contrasted old and new technologies. Machines often serve as the anonymous face of American industry, the underlying villain in many of Benton’s dramas.
The Missouri mural project was Benton’s first interpretation of Twain; he went on to provide illustrations for a 1939 edition of Tom Sawyer and a 1940 printing of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Critics often drew a connection between the two artists. A 1940 radio commentator opined, “The America of Thomas Hart Benton is the America of Mark Twain.” [2] Both men were from Missouri and both were interested in recording a history rooted in the colloquial experiences of American life. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was among the first American books to use a vernacular dialect in the development of its characters, a literary device that lends a regionalist tone to the work, a quality mirrored in Benton’s almost folksy painting style.
Notes:
[1] Benton, An Artist in America (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1968), 144.
[2] Albert N. Williams, “The America of Mister Thomas Hart Benton, Including the Folksongs,” in Art for Your Sake (New York: National Broadcasting Company), 1940, episode 14.
ProvenanceTo 1987
Stuart P. Feld (born 1935), New York, NY [1]
From 1987
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Stuart P. Feld on September 28, 1987. [2]
Notes:
[1] Letter from Stuart P. Feld, September 16, 1987.
[2] See note 1. Also, shipping invoice notes works were received September 28, 1987.
Exhibition History2011
Thomas Hart Benton: America’s Master Storyteller
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (3/3/2011 - 7/31/2011)
2018
Outlaws in American Art
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (February 28, 2018 - December 2, 2018)
2021
The Voyage of Life: Art, Allegory, and Community Response
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (7/16/2021 - 12/12/2021)
2022-2023
Prohibition Days: Conserving Thomas Hart Benton's Bootleggers
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (12/2/2022 - 5/28/2023)
Published ReferencesFath, Creekmore. The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979, number 12.
DepartmentAmerican Art
Huck Finn
Artist
Thomas Hart Benton
(1889 - 1975)
Date1936
Mediumlithograph
DimensionsFrame: 28 13/16 x 33 13/16 in. (73.2 x 85.9 cm)
Image: 16 1/2 x 21 1/2 in. (41.9 x 54.6 cm)
SignedBenton
Credit LineGift of Stuart P. Feld
Copyright© 2021 T.H. Benton and R.P. Benton Trusts / Licensed by VAGA at Artist Rights Society (ARS), NY
Object number1987.2.2
DescriptionFor his murals celebrating American culture and mores, Thomas Hart Benton traveled extensively across the country, sketching and recording vignettes for a future autobiography. Along the Mississippi River he mused: “The thought of floating effortlessly away on running water has an irresistible charm whether or not there is any real purpose or end set to it. In Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain has caught the spirit of this, and, back of the adventures of Huck and Jim and those whom they meet, there is always the moving river and the promises and hopes that lie around its unfolding bends.” [1] The lithograph Huck Finn is marked by loose lines and rich tonal gradations. It was one of several produced in conjunction with Benton’s successful Missouri State Capital Building Mural from 1936. The image illustrates two of Twain’s famous characters, Huck and Jim, floating down the Mississippi River on their raft. The affectionate relationship between the two is evident from their shared gaze and linked gestures. In the left foreground Jim stands holding a fish looking down at Huck. A boldly diagonal oar points to a scene in the background; three men labor on a raft while a steamboat disgorges great quantities of smoke. Along the right edge a turtle floats on a log.
The lithograph reveals not only Benton’s interest in Twain, but also his fascination with technology and the machine age. He creates a stark contrast between the billowing smoke of the commercial steamboat and the simple forms of the rafts on the river. Throughout his career, he repeatedly contrasted old and new technologies. Machines often serve as the anonymous face of American industry, the underlying villain in many of Benton’s dramas.
The Missouri mural project was Benton’s first interpretation of Twain; he went on to provide illustrations for a 1939 edition of Tom Sawyer and a 1940 printing of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Critics often drew a connection between the two artists. A 1940 radio commentator opined, “The America of Thomas Hart Benton is the America of Mark Twain.” [2] Both men were from Missouri and both were interested in recording a history rooted in the colloquial experiences of American life. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was among the first American books to use a vernacular dialect in the development of its characters, a literary device that lends a regionalist tone to the work, a quality mirrored in Benton’s almost folksy painting style.
Notes:
[1] Benton, An Artist in America (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1968), 144.
[2] Albert N. Williams, “The America of Mister Thomas Hart Benton, Including the Folksongs,” in Art for Your Sake (New York: National Broadcasting Company), 1940, episode 14.
ProvenanceTo 1987
Stuart P. Feld (born 1935), New York, NY [1]
From 1987
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, given by Stuart P. Feld on September 28, 1987. [2]
Notes:
[1] Letter from Stuart P. Feld, September 16, 1987.
[2] See note 1. Also, shipping invoice notes works were received September 28, 1987.
Exhibition History2011
Thomas Hart Benton: America’s Master Storyteller
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (3/3/2011 - 7/31/2011)
2018
Outlaws in American Art
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (February 28, 2018 - December 2, 2018)
2021
The Voyage of Life: Art, Allegory, and Community Response
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (7/16/2021 - 12/12/2021)
2022-2023
Prohibition Days: Conserving Thomas Hart Benton's Bootleggers
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (12/2/2022 - 5/28/2023)
Published ReferencesFath, Creekmore. The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1979, number 12.
Status
Not on view