Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975) was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He was part of the Regionalist Art Movement, painting scenes of life in the Midwest after receiving his art training at the Art Institute in Chicago. This crowded composition is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan.

Instruments of Power is an abstracted statement of American energy and transportation at the time of the Great Depression. It portrays movement and a push ahead as the propeller whirls and the train strains forward. It could be seen as a call to hope in and to praise of ingenuity and progress and to determination and imagination in the face of economic crisis.

And here we are again. If Thomas Hart Benton was using his beautiful, muted palette today what do you imagine he would paint as instruments of power in the face of the climate crisis? Maybe he would include huge windmills and fields of solar panels. Maybe he would paint infrastructure improvements like an electric car charging grid. And maybe he would paint communities of people listening and speaking, praying and serving together. He might include people whose strength and determination comes from love of God, of each other and of this planet.  Wouldn’t you love to see that painting?

In gratitude, faith and hope,

Sandy Prouty
Minister of Children and Families
Montview Church