Young, proud, and handsome, the artist includes his wife, Rita, in this 1922 self-portrait. ...Benton made enemies easily. It was not his art that caused offense—with the possible exception of a reclining nude he exhibited that “had so drawn the male population of the city that a rope had to be thrown around the area where the picture was hung”—but his abrasive personality. Reveling in his hard-drinking, tough-guy persona, Benton frequently attacked the manhood of people with whom he disagreed.... (https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2010/marchapril/feature/portrait-the-artist-and-after)