A collection of Navy paintings by famous Missouri artist Thomas Hart Benton are receiving their first public showing in Missouri from September 19-November 1 at the National Churchill Museum located on the campus of Westminster College in Fulton, MO.

This collection of Navy art by Thomas Hart Benton has only been showcased in the Midwest twice in the last 10 years.  The exhibition is on loan from the Navy Art Collection in Washington D.C.

“We are grateful to the Navy Historical Center for allowing us to bring these vivid Benton works to the Missouri public for the first time,” says Dr. Rob Havers, Executive Director of the National Churchill Museum.  “These paintings celebrate the hard work done by ordinary patriots in the defense plants, naval bases, and shipyards on behalf of the American war effort during World War II.”

Bob Priddy, News Director of Missourinet and celebrated Missouri historian, officially opened the exhibit last Thursday evening.  Two representatives from the USS Winston Churchill were in attendance.

As a Navy artist during World War II, Benton was motivated by the tragedy of Pearl Harbor to paint his first series of paintings, The Year of Peril series.  Considered some of the most violent and propaganda-like visuals of Benton’s career, these paintings were created to propel Americans into action.

The Navy arts series which followed in 1943 and 1944 and is now on display at the National Churchill Museum, depict much more modest activity such as the launching of a ship and loading of cargo. This series of paintings and sketches all depict the Navy at its best.

The exhibition includes 25 Benton paintings in all, which were originally financed by Abbott Laboratories, a pharmaceutical corporation that produced the popular sulfa drugs needed by the U.S. War Department at the time and commissioned art works to build public morale during the war years.

Born in Neosho, Missouri, in 1889, Benton was known as a master visual storyteller through his work and was a pioneer in the regionalist art movement.

Some of his other work includes murals at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Missouri State Capitol Building and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

For more information on the exhibit, call Liz Murphy at 573-592-5626 or email her at Liz.Murphy@churchillmemorial.org.