The Indiana Murals of Thomas Hart Benton: Visions of the Past, Lessons for the Present, and Treasures for the Future

Duration: 41

Year Published: 2001

Creator: Indiana U Instructional Support Ser

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Description: Documents Thomas Hart Benton's production of a mural 230 feet long and 12 feet high, depicting the social history of Indiana for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Provides narration by Indiana University history professor James Madison on the context for the "Century of Progress Exhibition" in the midst of the Depression and Benton's depictions of various moments of Indiana's industrial and cultural progress. Includes archival footage of Benton at work on sketches, models, and the actual painting. Relates IU President Herman B Wells' foresight in offering to mount the murals in the new Auditorium and in other buildings on the Bloomington campus in 1938. Shows the work of conservators from the IU Art Museum and other staff in repairing and preserving the panels when the Auditorium was renovated in 1997.