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Painting America

Season 1 Episode 1 | 2m 07s

Thomas Hart Benton painted America. For more than seventy years he painted its cities and small towns, its farms and backwoods. He painted its people, too: faith healers and lovers, politicians and soda jerks, farmers and movie stars.

General Motors Corporation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; PBS; Equitable Financial Companies; the National Endowment for the Humanities; Jules and Doris Stein Foundation; Gerald and Virginia Oppenheimer
Extras
Benton was commissioned to paint a mural depicting the social history of Missouri.
Thomas Hart Benton was born in Neosho, Missouri, into family of politicians.
Dan James discusses Benton's "He-man" persona.
Earl Bennent talks about the beauty in Benton's work.
The bittersweet story of an extraordinary American artist.
The bittersweet story of an extraordinary American artist.