Aaron
Artist
Thomas Hart Benton
(American, 1889 - 1975)
Date1941
MediumLithograph
DimensionsPlate: 12 3/4 × 9 9/16 inches (32.39 × 24.28 cm)
Sheet: 16 × 12 9/16 inches (40.64 × 31.9 cm)
Sheet: 16 × 12 9/16 inches (40.64 × 31.9 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Peter T. Bohan
Object number64-34/11
On View
Not on viewCollections
Gallery LabelIt was common for Benton to go out and find subjects for his art, but in the case of Aaron, the subject was brought to him. One of Benton’s students at the Kansas City Art Institute met the 82-year-old man depicted here along East 18th Street in Kansas City and persuaded him to model for the class. The deeply empathetic, sensitive treatment of this elderly man in both the original painting and this later lithograph stands in stark contrast to the more stereotyped images of African Americans from the period.
Copyright© Thomas Hart Benton and Rita P. Benton Testamentary Trusts / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information,
is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete.
Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a
particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum.
If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image,
please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.
