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Planting
On View
On view
Object number1991/2.28

Planting

Artist (American, 1889 - 1975)
Date1939
Mediumlithograph
Dimensionsimage: 9 7/8 × 12 5/8 in. (25.1 × 32.1 cm)
sheet: 11 3/8 × 16 in. (28.9 × 40.6 cm)
mat: 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
Credit LineGift of Richard D. and Marian G. Klein
Exhibition History"A Century of Caring: One Hunderd Years of American Realism," KIA (May 18 - Aug. 3, 1986). "70 Years, 70 Works from the KIA Permanent Collection," KIA (Nov. 19, 1994 - Feb. 10, 1995). "36 Regionalist prints from the KIA," Dennos Museum Center (Sept. 8 - Nov. 24, 1996), Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI. (May 17 - July 13, 1997), Midland Center for the Arts (Aug. 2 - Sept 21, 1997). "Views of the American Landscape: Works from the Permanent Collection," KIA (Dec. 21, 2002 - Jan. 12, 2003). "The American Experience: Prints and Drawings, 1900-1946," KIA (date unknown) "A Curator's Legacy: Helen Sheridan and the KIA Collection," KIA Long Gallery (Dec. 20, 2008 - Apr. 19, 2009). Label TextRegionalist art was a celebration of rural Midwestern Americans that reached its maximum popularity during the 1930s because images like these reassured countless Americans despite the Great Depression. Joe Jones’ Pitching Hay represents the kind of Regionalist scene that portrays rural American life that middle-class audiences consumed. However, while many Regionalists were celebrated for idolizing traditional American lifeways and values, Jones was drawn to agricultural subjects as a result of his desire to celebrate workers. Meanwhile Benton’s distortion of the image in Planting is unsettling. Yet, it celebrates the industry and dignity of the humble farm laborers pictured. Based on a 1938 drawing made in southern Arkansas, Benton looked upon the scene with a nostalgic eye, writing, “The man plows, the woman sows. Common enough scene up to very lately – maybe it is still to be found. Old ways don’t die easily.” [Label Text: For the People: America at 250 Exhibition, June 27 - October 4, 2026] ************************** After an early flirtation with modernist art in Paris, Benton returned to the US where he devoted himself exclusively to American subjects. His compositions always show a concern for rhythmic patterning. The vigorous, curvilinear lines in Planting are characteristic of both his paintings and his prints. This lithograph is based on a 1938 drawing made in southern Arkansas. Benton later wrote, “The man plows, the woman sows. Common enough scene up to very lately – maybe it is still to be found. Old ways don’t die easily.”