This is American painter, Thomas Hart Benton's (1889 - 1975) charming Birthday Painting for 12 year old Jessie. I love it. What a wonderful world Benton has created. Who wouldn't want to live in this little place on the edge of a greater place?I can hear the gulls calling, the water lapping, the soft sighs of summer. Perfect. But then I've always been a fan of Benton's swirling, energetic technique, his exuberant style. The energy is subdued here, but still apparent.
Besides, as Kenneth Graham observed:
There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats...or with boats...In or out of 'em, it doesn't matter.
The Wind in the Willows 1908
