Property from the Collection of Carol H. and Richard M. Levin of Kansas City, Missouri brought an important collection of 33 American paintings to Leslie Hindman Auctioneers for an evening sale held May 20 in Chicago. Five works by Thomas Hart Benton were sold, including his 1967 Discussion, which brought $1,052,500 against a pre-sale estimate of $200,000/400,000. With significant interest, phone bidders battled it out for the work, attempting to secure the quintessentially American scene of a laborer and union recruiter of the mid-20th century. Also available was Study for ³Discussion,² which was reproduced in a 1937 issue of Life. It sold for $11,250 against a pre-sale estimate of $6,000/8,000. Two additional Benton studies sold well above high estimates: the 1951 Study for ³Flood Disaster (Homecoming – Kaw Valley)² drew $362,500 against a pre-sale estimate of $120,000/180,000 and the 1956 Study for ‘Portrait of Carl Sandb

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