Thomas Hart Benton would certainly make my list of 20 favorite artists. This is partly a treatment of his final large mural, a 1972 depiction of Joplin, Missouri at the turn of the century, 1896-1906. There is an account by Benton and others of the events in Joplin at that time that led to his art career, and a large foldout reproduction of the mural itself. There is a synopsis of his life and work, and reproductions of several of his paintings (I'm more familiar with his lithographs). We also have a few pages of his sculptures, a medium I was not aware he did any work in. A nicely illustrated short introduction to one of the great American artists and some representative periods of his work. ( )