After serving his time in the military in World War II, Nat Cole headed straight to the Kansas City Art Institute to earn his degree as an artist by studying under the influence of Thomas Hart Benton. A native of Oklahoma, a student in Kansas, and a college professor of art in South Dakota, he ended up his career as an artist and teacher in Joplin, Missouri. Cole was not a traveling man. He preferred teaching, painting, and being at home. He preferred the subjects of homeplace, as well as the classical interpretations of biblical stories. He developed his own distinctive style based on the daily life of mid-century mid-American pursuits. His work brings back the Benton style of making each painting almost speak as a mural with a subject matter larger than the activities depicted.
