Missouri Republican Official Endangers Thomas Hart Benton Mural In Viral Photo

Note to self: do not lean on famous murals. Especially if you're the vice chairwoman of the Missouri Republican party.
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Missouri Republican Valinda Freed leaning on a Thomas Hart Benton mural to exchange her phone number with an unidentified man. Photo Dave Marner.

The vice chairwoman of the Missouri Republican party was caught on camera using a Thomas Hart Benton mural to lean on while writing down her phone number last week.

The official, Valinda Freed, has apologized for her “thoughtless act," according to the Kansas City Star. A photograph by area journalist Dave Marner went viral on Facebook over the weekend. A “right to work" rally, featuring several Republican gubernatorial candidates, was the occasion for the exchange of phone numbers between Freed and the unidentified man.

“I offer my sincere apology for my completely unplanned and thoughtless act," vice chairwoman Valinda Freed wrote in a statement to the Star. “The Thomas Hart Benton mural, and all the magnificent artwork in the Capitol, are (sic) state and national treasures."

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Thomas Hart Benton, A Social History of the State of Missouri, 1935.

The mural, A Social History of the State of Missouri, resides in the Missouri State Capitol and was commissioned in 1936. According to an essay on Truman State University's website, Benton traveled the state, speaking to “everyone from educated art critics to Ozark hillbillies," to get an understanding of Missouri's character.

The paintings show log cabins, turkey shoots, and French settlers trading with Osage Indians, along with darker subjects like a slave auction, a lynched slave, and the tarring and feathering of a naked Mormon.

Freed is also, according to her LinkedIn page, director of the Christian Patriots Arise Assembly, “an organization calling Christian Patriots to renew their commitment to Christ" and “to become involved in all matters involving public policy that effect (sic) their families and their FREEDOM."

 

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30 Artist Names You Are Probably Pronouncing Wrong
Hieronymus Bosch(01 of30)
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We'll start with a real challenge. This one has plagued every fan of "The Garden of Earthly Delights." The correct pronunciation: Hi-RAHN-eh-mus Bosh. (credit:"The Garden of Earthly Delights" (Wikimedia))
Wassily Kandinsky(02 of30)
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Ok, so it's probably just Mr. Kandinsky's first name that baffled you. It's VUH-sill-ee KAN-din-skee. No Wa-silly necessary. We doubt the Russian artist would have appreciated that strange nickname. (credit:"Ladies in Crinolines" (Photo by Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images))
Katsushika Hokusai(03 of30)
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You can't truly admire "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" without properly pronouncing the artist's name, right? Say it with us: Hoe-koo-SIGH. Or Hock-sigh if you can muster the speed. (credit:"The Great Wave off Kanagawa" (Wikimedia))
Auguste Rodin(04 of30)
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The next time you're ogling the French sculptor's works, you can confidently comment on his impeccable craftsmanship with this helpful hint: It's Oh-GOOST Roh-DAN. (credit:"The Thinker" (JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT/AFP/Getty Images))
Georges Seurat(05 of30)
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"A Sunday on La Grande Jatte" (Wikimedia) (credit:No, it's not George. Try, Zhorzh Sir-AH.)
Antoni Gaudi(06 of30)
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The first name's a breeze. The second name is really just as easy: Gowdy (like Howdy). (credit:(Photo by: Virginia Sherwood/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images))
Le Corbusier(07 of30)
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Impress your architecture-loving friends with a swift and smooth pronunciation of the design pioneer's name: Luh Cor-boo-see-YAY. (credit:"Le Corbusier: An Atlas of Modern Landscapes" (EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images))
Cimabue(08 of30)
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Remember this 13th century Italian painter and mosaicist? His name is pronounced Chee-ma-BOO-ay. (credit:"Maestà" (Wikimedia))
Mary Cassatt(09 of30)
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No, it's not Cass-et. It's Cuh-SAHT. Now you can truly appreciate her works' impressionist beauty. (credit:"Self-Portrait" (Wikimedia))
Albrecht Dürer(10 of30)
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Don't say Der-er. Try ALL-BREKT DEWR (or D-yer). (credit:"Self-Portrait" (Wikimedia))
Alberto Giacometti(11 of30)
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When admiring the work of the Swiss sculptor, painter, and printmaker, you should say, "I really enjoy the surreal experimentation of Ja-koe-met-ee." (credit:"La Main" (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images))
Théodore Géricault(12 of30)
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No one paints a better dramatically grim raft scene than Zhair-i-KOE. (credit:"The Raft of the Medusa" (Wikimedia))
Louis Daguerre(13 of30)
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Without Da-GAIR, we would never have enjoyed the 19th century wonder that was the daguerreotype. (credit:"Boulevard du Temple" (Wikimedia))
Gustave Courbet(14 of30)
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The man behind the scandalous "Origin of the World" painting: Goo-STAHV Kor-BAY. (credit:"Self-Portrait" (Wikimedia))
Giotto(15 of30)
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Easy: JA-toe. (credit:"The Nativity" (Wikimedia))
Jean Auguste Dominque Ingres(16 of30)
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The French neoclassical painter looks as if his last name might be pronounced like "fingers" without the first consonant, but, in fact, it's An-gair (or Ang-r if your French accent is better than ours). (credit:"Napoleon on his Imperial throne" (Wikimedia))
Eadweard Muybridge(17 of30)
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So. Many. Syllables. Tough them out with this pronunciation tip: Ed-werd MY-bridge. (credit:"The Horse in Motion" (Wikimedia))
Yves Tanguy(18 of30)
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The illusive sixth vowel makes this one a bit overwhelming. The name is EVE TANG-EEE. (credit:"The Doubter" (Photo by Walter Mori / Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images))
Titian(19 of30)
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So short, yet somewhat difficult to decipher. Repeat after us: TISH-in. (credit:"The Rape of Europa" (WIkimedia))
Vincent van Gogh(20 of30)
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Yes, you can say "Vincent van Go" or "Vincent van Goff," but a closer pronunciation of the Dutch name would actually be vun Khokh. It's obviously debatable. (credit:"Self-Portrait" (AP Photo/ Kroeller-Mueller Museum))
Louise Bourgeois(21 of30)
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How do you pronounce the name of the French-American sculptor known for her spider-like creations? Boo-ZHWA (credit:"Spider Maman" (Photographer: David Ramos/Bloomberg via Getty Images))
Paul Gauguin(22 of30)
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The double "u" can really hold a person back. But it's just Paul Go-GAN. (credit:"Te aa no areois (The Seed of the Areoi)" (Wikimedia))
Jan Van Eyck(23 of30)
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Yawn vun EYE-k. Or "Fun" if you're feeling bold. (credit:"The Arnolfini Portrait" (Wikimedia))
Edvard Munch(24 of30)
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Never Mun-ch, always Moonk. (credit:"The Scream" (Wikimedia))
Renoir(25 of30)
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"Oh, what a beautiful Ren-WA painting you have." (credit:"Le Moulin de la Galette" (Wikimedia))
Edgar Degas(26 of30)
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You know he created more than a handful of ballet-inspired artworks, but you're unsure of how to say his name? Ed-gar Deh-GAH. (credit:"The Dance Class" (Wikimedia))
Eugene Delacroix(27 of30)
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The French Romantic's name is Yoo-gene Del-a-QUA. (Or Oo-zhen if you're feeling optimistic.) (credit:"Liberty Leading the People" (Wikimedia))
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec(28 of30)
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The painter and printmaker's full name is Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa, but let's stick with the short version: AHN-ree deh Tah-LOOSE Lah-TREK. (credit:"Divan Japonais" (Wikimedia))
Francoise Gilot(29 of30)
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Known to some as the lover and muse of Pablo Picasso, this French painter's name is Fran-SWAZ Zhee-LOW. (Bonus points if you can phonetically differentiate between the female and male versions of this first name.) (credit:"Portrait of Francoise" by Pablo Picasso (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images))
Henri Matisse(30 of30)
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Nope, don't say Henry. It's Awn-REE Mah-TEESE. (credit:"Music" (Photo by Art Media/Print Collector/Getty Images))

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