This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné being prepared by the Thomas Hart Benton Catalogue Raisonné Foundation. Committee Members: Dr. Henry Adams, Anthony Benton Gude, Andrew Thompson and Michael Owen.

Out of the city, in the landscape, Benton explained that while portions of the Midwest might be flat, the clear horizon line “acts as an enclosure and sets a limit to things.” In contrast, the West seemed to extend “indefinitely” with “no limits.” Even the mountains rise in such a way, tier behind tier, that they carry your vision on and on, so that the forward strain of your eyes is communicated to all the muscles of the body and you feel actually within yourself the boundlessness of the world. You feel that you can keep moving forever without coming to any end. This is the physical effect of the West.

—Lauren Kroiz, excerpt from Thomas Hart Benton: Where Does the West Begin?, Schoelkopf Gallery, 2024