A Thomas Hart Benton Vineyard landscape painting will go on the auction block Thursday at the Swann Galleries in New York city. The painting is from Mr. Benton’s early work, estimated to have been painted in the 1920s when Mr. Benton and his wife, Rita, first began summering on the Vineyard. Titled Landscape, Martha’s Vineyard, the painting is oil on paper, circa 1922-24.

The painting’s more abstract look is indicative of Benton’s early to mid-career work, according to Todd Weyman, a Benton expert at Swann Galleries.

Mr. Benton was a Midwesterner, born into a well-known and politically-active family in Neosho, Mo. He came East after studying at the Art Institute of Chicago. He taught in New York in the 1920s and began visiting the Vineyard in the 1920s and 1930s, where he led a bohemian existence in at his home and studio in Chilmark. Mr. Weyman, remarking on Mr. Benton’s affection for the Vineyard, said: “He found a simple way of American life that he thought he’d lost when he left the Midwest.” Mr. Benton is perhaps best known as the foremost teacher of Jackson Pollock.

The painting is from a private collection. Mr. Weyman estimated it will sell for $30,000 to $50,000.

The auction will be held Thursday, June 9 at 10:30 a.m. at Swann Galleries.

 

This article has been updated from the original to correct a name.