Thomas Hart Benton

The woods, streams and rolling farmland around Mumford, N.Y., make the area a more likely spot for hunting, fishing or riding than for museum browsing. Which is fine with John L. (Jack) Wehle. An avid sportsman with...

Man in the middle is Tommy Bell, an NFL referee on weekends, a Kentucky lawyer weekdays. Whistling while he works, he even calls the time-outs for TV commercials.

Thomas Hart Benton, who at 80 acts more like the good old boy than the grand old man of American painting, has become a pro football fan and is considering doing a high relief of the action "to keep me busy through...