Hidden Thomas Hart Benton Painting Could Go on Display
- February 01, 2015 21:54
A Thomas Hart Benton work hidden away in storage for years could be put on public display after a newspaper questioned the whereabouts of the painting.
Students of the class of 1957 from Shawnee Mission High School in suburban Kansas City bought the Benton for $750. The painting hung in what is now Shawnee Mission North High School until school officials were stunned when it was appraised in 2008 at $700,000.
For seven years, Benton's "Utah Highlands" has been kept in storage for safekeeping. Now, school alumni, and a report in the Kansas City Star, have spurred district officials to consider taking the painting out of storage and they "negotiating with another entity."
![Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.](/images/c/e2/2e/Jan20_Rape_of_Europa100x100_c.jpg "Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640), After Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Rape of Europa, 1628–29. Oil on canvas, 71 7/8 x 79 3/8 in.")
