Donated by Baltimore-born cultural commentator H. L. Mencken, Bubbles records Thomas Hart Benton’s interest in “Synchromism” (literally, “with color”), an experimental form of painting that equated color with sound. Synchromism encouraged painters to compose color harmonies “scientifically,” just as musicians compose music by building sounds into harmonious chords. Benton encountered the movement in Paris and gave it a try. The original frame suggests that he knew about the radical green picture frames used by impressionists Edgar Degas and Mary Cassatt. When later taste dictated that Bubbles be housed in a more conventional manner, the green molding was covered over with linen and used as a liner rather than being discarded. The original frame is painted a muted teal blue, a color that also appears in the picture itself. When placed within this simple frame, Bubbles is transformed: the entire work looks bigger because the color field has been enlarged.