Thomas Hart Benton Mural

Click here or on the image above to watch a virtual tour of one of Thomas Hart Benton's murals, "A Social History of Missouri."

Thomas Hart Benton is among one of the most notable artists from Missouri. He was famous for creating artwork that displayed ordinary people doing ordinary things — including portraits, landscapes, and scenes of people in the fields farming, working in factories, and living the hustle and bustle of city life. His best-known works can be found on murals inside of several well-known Missouri buildings. Benton's work has captured life in America from pioneer times onwward.

One of his most famous mural is "A Social History of Missouri," located on the third floor of the State Capitol in the House Lounge. Benton finished the work in December 1936. More than 25 years after the murals were finished, they were restored to their original state and are maintained with the help of proper air conditioning units and moisture controls in the room.

Visitors notice the story Benton tells in "A Social History of Missouri" by moving their eyes from wall to wall: the North Wall features the Pioneer Days; the East Wall shows Benton's depiction of politics, farming, and law in our state; and the South Wall showcases the growing metropolis of Kansas City and St. Louis. In this video (click on the image above), you'll see Jesse James, Huckleberry Finn, the Pony Express, the Civil War, and many other people, places and events that helped shaped Missouri into the state that we know today.