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Jesse James

Artist Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889 - 1975)
Date1936
MediumLithograph
DimensionsPlate: 16 1/8 × 21 7/8 inches (40.97 × 55.55 cm)
Sheet: 19 7/8 × 23 3/4 inches (50.47 × 60.33 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Peter T. Bohan
Object number61-79/3
On View
Not on view
Collections
Gallery Label

A notorious criminal, Missouri-born Jesse James was nevertheless lauded in song as a folk hero who “robbed from the rich” and “gave to the poor.” Here Benton collapsed time and space to simultaneously show different incidents involving James and his infamous gang.

Benton adapted Jesse James from his Missouri Capitol murals, like Huckleberry Finn hanging nearby. Although Benton ensured that “BANK” and “BOOTS” read properly when translated from the mural to the print—a process that resulted in a mirror image—he did not correct every detail. Here the brazen James gang shoot left handed instead of right.

Copyright© Thomas Hart Benton and Rita P. Benton Testamentary Trusts / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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