Finally. A well thought out and well executed book about a major movement in American art that is often dismissed as being one dimensional. Dennis' introspective look into the most revered "Regionalist" artists not only offers engaging scholarship, but a very good education in American social history as well. A must read for anyone who thinks they know what "Regionalism" is.

This book makes you rethink any ideas you might have about Regionalism. Whether you agree with James Dennis or not is up to you, but he certainly does bring up some very interesting ideas. The basic ideas of the Regionalism school are initially laid out for the reader, and from this beginning it is already possible to see the weak foundation of the very definition of "Regionalism," as it was defined NOT by the artists, but by their critics and the public. The sterotyping generalities inherent in this 'school' set the stage for Dennis' questioning of the similarities of the work of Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and John Steurat Curry, the triumvirate of Regionalism. The author proceeds to explicate the inherent differences between the 3 artists' work, as well as the eventually obvious flawed general definition of "Regionalism." Dennis breaks down his discussions into realism vs. abstraction, realistic subject matter vs. fantasies, the ideas of nationalism and fascism in the artists' work, their varying depictions of women, and finally compares the three Regionalists to three contemporary modernists, Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, and Marsden Hartley. Dennis concludes with the assertion that the so-called "Regionalists" are in many ways more "modern" than their modernists contemporaries. The book has plenty of pictures, sadly only in black and white, and thus the book is a surprisingly quick read. Each chapter is thorough however, and must be studied to be fully understood. The reader should have some art historical background, and some knowledge of the history of the first half of the 20th century. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Regionalism, and the history of American art. Makes you think.

Tom Benton could have been a great writer if he hadn't have made such an important name for himself as a Regionialist painter. This book describes, in a passionate honesty, Benton's beliefs on Art and life. Anyone who wants to learn more about the man behind the irrascible myth should read this book!

This book, although currently out of print, is a must have for anyone interested in the lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton. It catalogues the works and has additional comments by the artist himself on each work. Good luck finding a copy.

This biography of Thomas Hart Benton is an outstanding look at not only the man, but the politics of an era. While many are familiar with the names and actions of Clay, Webster, and Calhoun, few are so familiar with the fourth member of this "quadumvirate." Benton was every bit as eloquent, influential, and powerful as his contemporaries, but his contributions seem to have been overshadowed in popular conception by his fellow Democrats, Andrew Jackson and Stephen Douglass. For the first time we see a man driven to represent his adopted state (Missouri), his penchant for engaging in duels (he once shot Andrew Jackson who carried the bullet for twenty years), and his sincere desire to aid the working man in the expansion of the new West. Benton's thirty-plus year career spans from the age of the founding fathers to the beginnings of the sectional crisis of the Civil War. This work is a must read for those interested in the politics of the Jacksonian era which led to the Civil War.