As the first major Regionalist painting to enter the permanent collection, Thomas Hart Benton's Weighing Cottony 1939 (Fig. 1) significantly enhances the Art Gallery's ability to present a balanced view of American art in the years between the Depression and World War Two. A premier example of Benton's Regionalist style, it is one in a series of three agricultural scenes- the others are Cradling Wheat and Roasting Ears (Figs. 2, 3) - in which the artist articulated a personal vision of the American heartland. It was a region that would preoccupy him for the rest of his life.