Thomas
Hart Benton’s Little Brown Jug, circa 1941 (est. $600/800,000), which draws
inspiration from Glen Miller’s 1939 recording of a song of the same name. Music
became was great passion for Benton, and scenes incorporating musicians,
dancing and vignettes based on popular folk songs were often subjects of his
canvases.
Sotheby’s May 21,
2009
Thomas
Hart Benton’s Sea Phantasy I (est.
$400/600,000) was painted for a sports den commissioned around 1925 by Mr. and
Mrs. Albert Briggs. Briggs was an avid fisherman, and recruited Benton to
create a room filled with sea motifs to compliment his trophy fish. Sea Phantasy I was one of four large
wall panels the artist created, in addition to a three-part rug and a decorative
folding screen. The abstracted forms and brightly colored compositions from
this commission are a reflection of Benton’s continued interest in the
structure and composition of Japanese prints as well as the Synchromist
movement, which was based on the belief that the colors in a painting can be
orchestrated in the same harmonious way that a composer arranges notes in a
symphony.
