Steve Sitton to Discuss Benton’s Year of Peril

November 20, 2017

Kansas City (MO)… On Monday, December 4 at 6:30 p.m., the National Archives who host Steve Sitton for a discussion titled Benton’s Year of Peril. A free light reception will precede the program at 6:00 p.m.  

Begun immediately after Pearl Harbor, Missouri artist Thomas Hart Benton produced a series of 8 large paintings in nine weeks. Collectively known as The Year of Peril, they were intended to “wake up the middle west to the grimness of our national situation.” While the paintings made a big impact, they were deemed unsuitable for propaganda purposes, and were soon forgotten. Year of Peril provides a glimpse into the American psyche at the time of our entry into WWII. Steve Sitton, Site Administrator for the Thomas Hart Benton Home and Studio State Historic Site will discuss the historic significance of these paintings and why Benton produced them. This program is presented in collaboration with the Missouri Humanities Council.  

Requests for ADA accommodations must be submitted five business days prior to events. Reservations are requested for this free program, rsvp to kansascity.educate@nara.gov.

The National Archives at Kansas City is home to historical records dating from the 1820s to the 1990s created or received by Federal agencies in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. For more information, call 816-268-8000 or visit www.archives.gov/kansas-city/.    

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LPM/LE – KC18-02