Bust of Thomas Hart Benton

This bust of Missouri native Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) depicts the artist in his last years. Coe's articulate rendering of Benton's facial dimensions, with eyes deep-set beneath a furrowed brow, accurately achieves the intense gaze with which Benton is often pictured. Being from a mostly rural southwestern area of Missouri, Benton is most known for his mural sized paintings depicting the lives of working-class people. To date, he is regarded as one of the greatest American painters of the 20th century.