Accompanied by a lantern, an elderly man sits alone, engrossed in a newspaper. Benton used a lithographic process to draw and produce this image. He renders the face and paper well-lit, drawing the eye around the paper with exquisite use of highlights and contrast.

Benton was a master of narrative with strong attention to detail in his works, both in crafting a story and in his use of technique. Here, the man appears relaxed and comfortable, but his crumpled jacket and heavy eyelids suggest he is unwinding after a long day of work. Notably, the lantern is not lit, implying that the man’s face is illuminated by an electric light above. This subtle feature highlights that times were changing; by 1945, 85 percent of American homes were powered by electricity.

Benton, a great pioneer of the Regionalist movement, was not a man who embraced the ever-changing modern world. Despite having lived in cities, both Paris and New York, he moved back to Missouri in the mid-30s and preferred a quieter life, connected to his rural home and telling the stories of the working communities of the midwest.