“City Building” is an artwork created by Thomas Hart Benton in 1931. The painting, rendered in tempera on canvas, is a significant piece within the Regionalism art movement and belongs to the genre painting category. It is part of the “America Today” series and is currently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York City, NY, US.
The artwork vividly captures a bustling scene of urban construction, typifying Benton’s focus on industrial and manual labor. Dominant in the composition are muscular workers engaged in various building tasks, set against a backdrop of rising city infrastructure. The dynamic forms and robust color palette emphasize the physicality and effort of the laborers, while the angular lines and architectural elements convey the rapid progress and growth of the urban environment. This piece encapsulates the vigor and industrious spirit of early 20th-century America.
