58: THOMAS HART BENTON (1889-1975) PENCIL SIGNED LITHOGRAPH

Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975)
Jessie and Jake (1942)
The lithograph published by Associated American Artists in an edition of 250 prints is signed by the artist in pencil below the image lower right and listed as Fath catalog number 55.



Benton's comments in Fath read: Painting of this subject made in 1941 when daughter Jessie was three yrs old. Our shepherd dog Jake impersonated the wolf in this Red Riding Hood theme. The area depicted is in our wood lot on Martha's Vineyard and shows a path leading to my mother's place there. Trees, white oak, grow thick at the trunk but do not get very high in our part of the Island because of the winds. Painting in my possession. Litho was made from it at request of A.A.A.
Image measures 13.5 x 10, sheet is 15.75 x 12.5, and frame is 21 x 18 inches.
The full untrimmed sheet, not laid down, two deckle edges, no stain, punctures, tears, there appear to be a number of reinforcements and or repairs to the paper, possible rebuilding of thin areas after the sheet was removed from a backing, plus a line across the top edge form a previous mounting.
$1,500 - $2,000