Benton Spruance created paintings and murals, but his primary medium was lithography. The artist was born in Philadelphia, where he studied at the University of Pennsylvania School of Fine Art and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Spruance eventually became an art teacher himself. During the 1920s and 1930s his bold black-and-white lithographs of urban subjects established his reputation. Later in his career, he also made color lithographs and focused on mystical and mythological subjects.
[This is an excerpt from the interactive companion program to the videodisc American Art from the National Gallery of Art. Produced by the Department of Education Resources, this teaching resource is one of the Gallery's free-loan educational programs.]