Thomas Hart Benton "Oil Well" watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paper, c. 1950. Signed lower right, "Benton". Sheet: 29.5"H x 19.5"W; Frame: 40.625"H x 30.625"W. PROVENANCE: Christie's New York: May 22, 2003 (Lot 00081); From the Collection of Sam Wyly, Dallas, Texas. EXHIBITED: "Thomas Hart Benton: Paintings and Works on Paper," Hammer Galleries, New York. March 15 - April 19, 2004. LITERATURE: Dr. Henry Adams, "Thomas Hart Benton: Paintings and Works on Paper, March 15 - April 19th, 2004," Hammer Galleries, New York, pp. 40-41 (illustrated in color, p. 41). NOTE: In 1943-44 Benton sketched troop ships being constructed in Pittsburgh, and then floated down the Mississippi on one of the new vessels to New Orleans, where they joined the fleet. While in Louisiana, Benton made a number of sketches of oil rigs and oil refineries, including a group of sketches of an oil refinery near Baton Rouge that resulted in his painting, "Catalytic Crackers," (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge). This drawing with watercolor heightening seems to relate to this series, although it is not clear whether it was made in 1943-44, or whether it was created specifically for George Freyermuth's retirement, a few years later. "Oil Well," was presented to George Freyermuth, Director of Public Relations at Esso Oil Company, New York, circa 1950, as a gift when he left the company. We would like to thank Dr. Henry Adams, the Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History at Case Western Reserve University, for his assistance in authenticating and cataloguing this lot. Thomas Hart Benton (American, 1889-1975).