What was the original purpose of the America Today murals?

What was the original purpose of the America Today murals?

• A. To enwrap the walls of the New School for Social Research's boardroom
• B. To decorate the Metropolitan Museum of Art's lobby
• C. To illustrate American mythology
• D. To document urban life in the 1930s

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that these murals were created as a commission to decorate and surround the specific interior space of the New School for Social Research, namely its boardroom. Thomas Hart Benton designed the series to wrap the room in a panoramic view of American life—showing work, industry, and daily scenes—so the setting itself would feel alive with the nation’s activity and concerns during the 1930s. This purpose is different from simply decorating a museum lobby or illustrating mythology; while the paintings do depict urban and rural life, their primary function was to furnish and inspire the boardroom with a broad, democratic picture of American society, not to stand as a museum piece or as mythic storytelling.

The main idea is that these murals were created as a commission to decorate and surround the specific interior space of the New School for Social Research, namely its boardroom. Thomas Hart Benton designed the series to wrap the room in a panoramic view of American life—showing work, industry, and daily scenes—so the setting itself would feel alive with the nation’s activity and concerns during the 1930s. This purpose is different from simply decorating a museum lobby or illustrating mythology; while the paintings do depict urban and rural life, their primary function was to furnish and inspire the boardroom with a broad, democratic picture of American society, not to stand as a museum piece or as mythic storytelling.