Portrait of a Musician 1949

Curator: This is Thomas Hart Benton’s “Portrait of a Musician," created in 1949. Editor: It's all blues to me: that mellow bass fiddle brown against the man’s dark hair and suit, the watery cerulean background... Very cool mood, but is the guy frowning, or just concentrating? Curator: Benton’s later work is often marked by precisely this tension: a relaxed pose rendered with meticulous detail that yields something emotionally complex, and also consider how Benton portrayed his subjects, mostly Black subjects from urban scenes in America. The social context of jazz music being at the height of it's popularity is no accident here either. Editor: So, what you are suggesting is this is Benton consciously addressing jazz and the cultural shift toward American urban culture. Because the cat certainly looks in command and confident! Still... It feels like the cool cat might have a melancholic tinge; the lighting is subdued... Makes me think of the late hours these cats put in! Curator: That's interesting, isn't it? Benton was definitely interested in the real lives of his subjects, especially working-class folks who were not part of the American Dream, at least not entirely. I think you’re right; there's respect for labor in this work as well. It elevates a musician into a kind of iconic, or at least individualized presence, against the rise of industrialist or conformist archetypes often being propagated post World War Two in most white communities. Editor: It gets me thinking of my own connection with jazz... All those lonely nights of creation; toiling away in obscurity... Maybe that melancholy is more universal; the lonely labor of creativity in general! And this artist found it too; painted right into the composition for all posterity. So dope. Curator: Exactly! That tension speaks volumes about Benton's process of representing modern America. Thanks to your insightful read of Benton’s harmonic spectrum in the material presentation and contextual implications, I feel I know it better than before. Editor: My pleasure! Sometimes, you have to see what resonates and trust your senses! And on that note...let the record play.