Art Historian and Biographer Henry Adams on Visual Artist Thomas Hart Benton's Musical Importance

In 1973, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum commissioned Thomas Hart Benton-lauded American painter-to create “The Sources of Country Music,” a mural detailing the cultural influences of the genre.
In this program, award-winning art historian, curator, and Benton biographer Henry Adams; Katelyn Crawford, curator of American art at the Birmingham Museum of Art; and Elek Horvath, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s associate director of collection access, provide insightful interpretation of the painting and its commission, as well as background on Benton, his technique, and his enduring importance.
This program was presented in support of the Museum’s exhibition “An American Masterwork: Thomas Hart Benton’s ‘Sources of Country Music’ at 50” and the Frist’s exhibition “SOUTHERN/MODERN.”
Full program: • Thomas Hart Benton’s “...