America Today
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| America Today | |
|---|---|
 Instruments of Power | |
| Artist | Thomas Hart Benton |
| Year | 1930-1931 |
| Medium | tempera on wood |
| Location | Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
| Website | The Met |
America Today is a mural comprising ten canvas panels, painted with egg tempera in 1930–1931 by the American painter Thomas Hart Benton. It provides a panorama of American life throughout the 1920s, based on Benton's extensive travels in the country. Originally commissioned for The New School for Social Research building at 66 West 12th Street, it has belonged to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York, since 2012.
| Title | Dimensions[1] |
|---|---|
| Instruments of Power | 92 x 160 in. (233.7 x 406.4 cm) |
| City Activities with Dance Hall | 92 x 134 1/2 in. (233.7 x 341.6 cm) |
| City Activities with Subway | 92 x 134 1/2 in. (233.7 x 341.6 cm) |
| Deep South | 92 x 117 in. (233.7 x 297.2 cm) |
| Midwest | 92 x 117 in. (233.7 x 297.2 cm) |
| Changing West | 92 x 117 in. (233.7 x 297.2 cm) |
| Coal | 92 x 117 in. (233.7 x 297.2 cm) |
| Steel | 92 x 117 in. (233.7 x 297.2 cm) |
| City Building | 92 x 117 in. (233.7 x 297.2 cm) |
| Outreaching Hands | 17 1/8 x 97 in. (43.5 x 246.4 cm) |
Creation
The mural was commissioned in 1929 by Alvin Saunders Johnson, director of The New School for Social Research in New York City, for the school's boardroom at 66 West 12th Street. Benton was not offered any payment beyond material costs. Instead, he saw the work as an opportunity to make a name for himself and thereby get more commissions in the future. The subjects were based on Benton's extensive travels in the United States. Benton said about the work: "Every detail of every picture is a thing I myself have seen and known. Every head is a real person drawn from life."[2] The mural was painted with egg tempera on linen canvases.[1]
