85. Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975)

"Frankie and Johnnie".
lithograph, 1936, Associated American Artists edition of 100, signed in stone lower right corner, signed in pencil lower right margin "Benton", titled in pencil in lower left corner of margin, matted.
16-3/8" x 22-1/8" (image).
19-7/8" x 23-5/8" (sheet).

5,000/8,000     

This image is derived from a scene Benton portrayed in his "Missouri Mural" (1935-36)--the most sophisticated of all his mural designs, and the only one of his 1930s murals that remains completely intact and in situ. It is located in the House Lounge in the Missouri State Capitol Building in Jefferson City.

The legend of Frankie and Johnnie evolved from an early American ballad which was adopted as a local folk tale by Missourians along with the notorious bank and train robberies of Jesse James and his gang.

Benton often translated his paintings into lithographs as a way of popularizing his imagery, and as a moneymaking venture. The prints were distributed by Associated American Artists Galleries in New York, largely through mail order. Most of the AAA prints were issued in editions of 250. This lithograph of "Frankie and Johnnie" as well as Benton's two other prints derived from the Missouri Mural ("Jesse James" and "Huck Finn") were issued in smaller editions of only 100. These three lithographs are the largest prints Benton ever produced, among the most highly prized of all AAA prints, and among the rarest in Benton's graphic oeuvre.

Literature:
Creekmore Fath, The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton, new edition, Austin, University of Texas Press, 1990, cat. no. 11, pp. 42-3.

Condition: excellent apart from a very slight mat window from light exposure, acidic matting, deckled edges top and left, hand-torn edges right and bottom, margins are 2" top, 3/4" sides 1-1/2" bottom.