Renowned American artist (1889–1975) whose distinctive “regionalist” style made him one of the most influential figures in American art during the 1930s and 1940s. His large-scale murals, often peopled by lanky, exaggerated human figures, became classic visual emblems of both idyllic rural culture and bustling urbanism in Depression-era America. Four items: Original drawing titled “Ghost Town,” pencil on an off-white 16.75 x 13.75 sheet from the artist’s notebook, signed at lower right “Benton 55.” The drawing depicts a deserted small-town street with the facades of several nineteenth-century commercial buildings and a pickup truck of 1930s–1940s vintage, all against a low mountainous backdrop. Below his signature, Benton adds a handwritten caption: “Birth place of Women Suffrage Act giving women the right to vote and hold office was passed in territorial legislature Dec. 10, 1869. Esther Hobart Morris led the crusade from South Pass City, Wyoming.” Accompanied by an unsigned exhibition label from ACA Galleries in New York. In fine condition, with mounting tape remnants to top margin (well away from image), and the very slightest, nearly imperceptible trace of toning from previous framing. ALS, one page, 7.25 x 10.5, personal letterhead, April 4, 1973. Benton writes to Jerry Granat regarding the above work. In part: “Wymoming [sic] was the first U.S. state to grant woman suffrage. The town depicted in your drawing, now a ghost town, is supposed to be the first place where the proposal of equal voting rights for women was accepted. Anyhow the first territorial legislature (1869) granted women full suffrage. I forget the name of the town but it was near the famed South Pass of the Oregon Trail.” In very good condition, with wrinkles, corner chip, and a few light stains. ALS, one page, 7.25 x 10.5, personal letterhead, April 29, 1973. Benton writes to Jerry Granat. In full: “I will gladly autograph your book of Benton drawings. Send it prepared for return.” In fine, clean condition. Signed book: Benton Drawings. First edition. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1968. Hardcover with dustjacket, 10.25 x 12.25, 135 pages. Signed and inscribed in ballpoint on his portrait opposite the title page, “To Jerry Granat from Thomas H. Benton.” The above drawing is reproduced on page 17. Chips and tears to jacket, otherwise fine condition. Though this superb, characteristic image speaks eloquently for itself, the unusually thorough level of documentation, direct from the artist, adds an undeniable cachet shared by few other examples from Benton’s pencil. An exceptional treasure from this seminal figure in American art! LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
