sentences:  These artists avoided gritty realism and created positive images of an idealized, strong, capable America, a viewpoint which accorded well with the political environment of the New Deal and was in some senses therapeutic for the anxiety and weakness pervasive during and just after the Depression.Typical of this was Benton's "Plowing It Under", released shortly after the federal government arranged the plowing under of millions of acres previously devoted to cotton production in order to increase farm revenue; Benton's work reassured the public that the government was working in the best interests of the people.The Regionalists by and large were in favor of businesses and advertising using their works, believing that fine art could raise the consciousness of business.