Ben Ragan and Trouble 1941

Thomas Hart Benton made this drawing, Ben Ragan and Trouble, with ink on paper. Look at the way he’s built up the shading with these intricate, rhythmic marks. It’s almost like he’s sculpting the form with his pen, a real testament to the power of process. The limited palette of black ink on paper emphasizes the tonal contrasts, lending a dramatic, almost theatrical quality to the scene. See the way the light catches the dog's coat, or the sharp, decisive lines that define the hunter's face. The whole image is rendered with this incredible tactile quality. The marks feel like they could almost be raised off the page. Benton was a student of art history, and his work recalls Renaissance drawings as much as it does American Scene painting. I’m reminded of Jacob Lawrence, another artist committed to depicting everyday life, and whose use of simplified form and dynamic composition shares some common ground with Benton's approach. Art, you know, it's all just one big conversation.