Axa Equitable has donated Thomas Hart Benton’s epic mural, "America Today," to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the museum and Axa Equitable announced.
The donation keeps the massive 10-panel work, which is Benton’s most famous, in one piece and puts it on display to the public.
The sweeping panorama of American life celebrates the promise of modern industry and technology and the accomplishments of working people in the 1920s. Benton created the mural for the boardroom of the New School for Social Research in New York City. The work helped establish Benton as the era’s leading muralist. It was created in 1930 and 1931.
It was acquired by Axa Equitable in 1984 and was to be moved to accommodate office renovations, prompting the donation to keep it in one piece and in New York City, according to Axa.
