Homecoming Kaw Valley

Benton, Thomas Hart

Homecoming Kaw Valley, nan

Offset lithograph

Signed in pencil lower right. A very good impression of this scarce print. Fath p. 6-7. Framed 21.75 x 25.75 in. Condition: extremely pale mat burn; otherwise good and clean. Lot 4073. Notes say the lithograph appeared on the November 1951 cover of The New Republic for Benton’s article “Disaster on the Kaw” and was purchased directly from the Benton estate from Benton’s daughter, Jessie.

Image size: 11.5" x 14.75"

Literature: Fath p. 6-7

Description: Thomas Hart Benton’s *Homecoming – Kaw Valley* (1951), an offset lithograph measuring approximately 11.5 × 14.75 inches, offers a quietly powerful reflection on the devastating 1951 Kansas River flood. Signed in pencil lower right, this scarce print served both as the November 1951 cover image for *The New Republic*, accompanying Benton’s essay “Disaster on the Kaw,” and as a fundraising vehicle—distributed to members of Congress and flood relief efforts ([swanngalleries.com](https://www.swanngalleries.com/auction-lot/thomas-hart-benton-after-homecoming-kaw-valley_5504c97a5c?utm_source=openai)). Benton, a leading figure in the American Regionalist movement, here channels his characteristic empathy for rural communities into a scene of return and loss. The composition’s somber figures and ruined landscape evoke resilience amid destruction, situating the work within mid‑century America’s grappling with natural disaster and social responsibility. At 85–140 words, this description maintains a confident, gallery‑appropriate tone.

$ 3,000