Thomas Hart Benton received $16,000 for the remarkable murals of American life which he painted on 1,000 square feet of wall surface in Missouri's capitol at Jefferson City. Also full of salty realism was his autobiography, An Artist in America. A Kansas City real-estate operator named Howard Huselton read the book till his eyes popped, found it "sensual, gross, profane, vulgar." It seemed a parlous thing to Mr. Huselton that the author of such a work should be instructor at the Kansas City Art Institute. Round to the Institute's board of governors pattered...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
