The Wreck of the Ole '97 Painting,1943 Art Criticism Reyes josue Griffin Middle School

The Wreck of the Ole '97 is one of Benton's landmark paintings. Completed in 1943, this painting captures the American west and the disappearance of the Midwestern rural tradition that Benton sought to record. Benton spent many years in Kansas from his stint at the Kansas City Art Institute until his death in 1975, and Midwestern imagery dominates the majority of his later works. This work also represents his desire to represent the common American experience.

In “The Wreck of the Ole 97”, I see a steam train racing across the canvas. Coming from the other direction, there is a wagon being pulled by a horse. The wagon seems to be moving very fast and there is a woman falling off of the back of it. The colors appear realistic at first, but are all lacking complex value. There is a lot of space created by the plants in the foreground and the movement of the carriage that looks like it is traveling back in space towards the train. The painting is titled “The Wreck”, but to me the moment the painting capture is just before the wreck happens.

Movement, emphasis, balance: something to remain upright and steady. Movement is shown in the painting cause of the train racing across the canvas. Also the wagon is showing movement because the horse pulling the wagon is trying to stop and a woman is falling. Emphasis is the train because the title is called The Wreck of the Ole '97. Balance is used in this painting cause of the people falling off the wagon between the train.

The Wreck of the Ole '97 by Thomas Hart Benton makes me think that the train must of did a lot of damage. Also the Wreck of the Ole '97 has a lot of excitement than others in my point of view. The painting really got my attention because the train looked like it had some thing interesting.

In my opinion, Thomas Hart Benton’s artwork is very successful. I never had realized how talented Thomas Hart Benton had been when he was alive. His painting is expressive, but still with enough realism that you can clearly see the subject of the artwork. The only thing I wish that he had done differently is that he needed some dark colors. The painting has no brush strokes but it would be nice if it had brush strokes but its still ok.