Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975) Instruction, 1940 Lithograph on paper 10 3/8" x 12 1/4" (image) From an edition of 250 (Fath, 41) published by Associated American Artists (New York). Pencil-signed "Benton" in the lower right margin. The sheet is sized 12 1/2" x 16 1/4", with deckled top and bottom edges. Matted but not framed, not laid down, affixed to the back mat with two archival hinges at the top corners of the sheet. The mat measures 14" x 18". The following is Benton's own description of this image, as written in Creekmore Fath's essential The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton: "A painting of this was made in 1940 directly from life. One of my students at the K.C. Art Institute found the man selling snake medicine in the pool halls of 12th St. in downtown K.C. He caught rattle snakes and let them rot and ferment in gallon jars and sold the result as an aphrodisiac. He was also a preacher and conducted a Sunday school class. This picture shows him telling about The Bible." Provenance: A private collection in Wisconsin, thence by inheritance, acquired directly from AAA. The lithograph is in excellent condition: A crisp impression on a very clean sheet free of folds, tears, or rippling. Each of the tape hinges at the top corners have snapped, so the sheet is loose from the mat.