News Release No. 400

REPRODUCTION OF THOMAS HART BENTON MURAL
INSTALLED AT BENTON HOME STATE HISTORIC SITE

Volume 33-400

Contact: Sue Holst

(For immediate release)

573-751-6510

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, SEPT. 29, 2005 -- A one-half scale reproduction of Kansas City artist Thomas Hart Benton's mural for Harzfeld's Department Store is now on permanent exhibit at the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site in Kansas City, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced today.

The allegorical mural, Achelous and Hercules, was commissioned by Harzfeld's Specialty Store for its downtown Kansas City location in 1946. Some of Benton's previous murals and paintings had earned him a reputation for controversy. Lester Siegel, Harzfeld's president, told Benton that he could, "paint whatever you want, but try to let me stay in business." It depicts the Greek mythological hero Hercules wrestling the river god Achelous, who has taken the form of a bull, for the hand of the maiden Dejanira. Hercules' victory produced the Cornucopia from a horn of Achelous, and represents the taming of the Missouri River.

Benton's mural originally hung above the elevator doors at Harzfeld's. After Harzfeld's closed in 1984, the 24 foot by 7 foot mural was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution and now hangs in the American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.

The half-size photo-reproduction was produced by a member of the Friends of the Benton Home for a temporary exhibit at the Johnson County Central Resource Library in 2002. It was then donated to the state historic site. A text panel featuring Benton's interpretation of the Achelous and Hercules myth for a Harzfeld's brochure, along with 1947 articles from the Kansas City Star and Times, completes the new exhibit in the Benton Home visitor center.

Thomas Hart Benton is Missouri's most famous 20th century painter. His works include murals at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City and the Truman Library in Independence. Benton worked out of his Kansas City studio, located behind his home, from 1939 until his death in 1975. The home and studio are now the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site, a facility of the Department of Natural Resources, located at 3616 Belleview in mid-town Kansas City.

The state historic site is open year-round for tours Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information about the site, call the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) or the site at 816-531-6627 and ask for Steve Sitton, site administrator. For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/parkssearch.do.

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