Huckleberry Finn

This lithograph depicts Missouri-native and author Mark Twain’s famous characters of whom Benton was so fond. Just as Huck and Jim led Benton along the Mississippi, Benton leads us through his composition. Circular movement runs from Jim’s upraised arm through Huck and the oar in the foreground, to the steamer and smoke in the background, and returns to Jim through an overhanging tree. The composition is based on a scene from A Social History of Missouri, the murals Benton painted for the Missouri State Capitol in 1936.