JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MARCH 29, 2019 – Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site invites the public to an informational meeting at 2 p.m., Sunday, April 14 at the Thomas Hart Benton Home Visitor Center. The public is invited to share comments about the state historic site and its operations. State historic site staff will be on hand to provide information and to answer questions.
Input from the public is important to Missouri State Parks. These informational meetings, which are being held in all state parks and historic sites, help create two-way communication with the public. The meetings give staff the opportunity to let people know the current status and future plans for the parks and historic sites, and they offer visitors the opportunity to comment on the facilities.
After the meeting, and in honor of Tom Benton’s 130th birthday, there will be an unveiling of two artworks, now available for public display for the first time here at the Benton Home. The Benton Home recently received on loan an original 1962 oil painting, "Study for Cave Spring." The small color preliminary work depicts Benton’s good friend and lawyer, Lyman Field, napping on the banks of the Buffalo River in the Arkansas Ozarks.
The Benton Home also had some conservation work completed on a large satin tablecloth, which is decorated with an abstract design. Tom Benton painted this in late 1911 or early 1912 as a gift for his mother. Benton was around 22 years old at the time, living at home in Neosho; after returning from his art school studies in Paris, France and before he moved to New York City. It is one of the few early Benton artworks to still exist, and now has been cleaned and mounted for exhibit.
Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site is located at 3616 Belleview Ave., Kansas City. For more information, please contact Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site at 816-931-5722.
For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit the web at https://mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.