Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton: The Decker Collection

Circle Auction is proud to offer an outstanding collection of 50 lithographs by artist Thomas Hart Benton, assembled by the late Dr. Clarence R. Decker, who served as the president of the University of Kansas City (now called the University of Missouri – Kansas City) from 1938-1953. During Decker’s time in that position, he helped to grow the university many times over. He played an instrumental role in UKC’s accreditation, and under his tenure, the university became the first institution of higher learning in the state to enroll Black students and the first in the region to accept Japanese-American students following World War II internment.

Decker also built a program that brought visiting artists and cultural leaders to campus. Benton was among those welcomed to UKC, and accounts of the period describe Benton as part of the Deckers’ personal circle, including being hosted by Clarence and Mary Decker at University House. This personal connection is reflected in the collection itself, with many lithographs inscribed by Benton to Clarence and Mary.

In 1949, Decker commissioned Benton to create the lithograph Prayer Meeting, as documented in Creekmore Fath’s catalogue raisonné, The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton. Decker left the University of Kansas City in 1953, and continued serving in higher education until his death in 1969.

Assembled 60 to 80 years ago and preserved in the Decker family ever since, this single-owner collection is now being offered to the public, giving collectors the rare chance to acquire Benton lithographs with direct personal association to one of his Kansas City friends and patrons.

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