Monday, January 30, 2023

Rockwell Kent Paintings

Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) was a well-known painter and illustrator.   I wrote about his illustraton work here.   This lengthy Wikipedia entry provides backgound information.

It seems Kent was highly political.  For example, in 1967 the Soviet Union awarded him the Lenin Peace Prize.

Fortunately, as best I can tell from Internet surfing of images of his paintings, he stuck mostly to nature as his subject matter.  In particular, he made many paintings featuring snow and ice.

For most of his career his style was Moderne - simplified shapes, as can be seen in the Gallery below.

Gallery

Winter, Monhegan Island - 1907
Monhegan is small island off the coast of Maine that Kent visited several times over his career. This painting predates his Moderne style, and is pleasingly well-done.

Winter in the Berkshires - 1909
Another fairly early work.  The Berkshires are a low mountain range along the Massachusetts - New York border.

The Trapper - 1921
By now, Kent's mature style has emerged.

Terra del Fuego - 1924
Near the southern tip of South America.

Artist in Greenland - c.1935
Yes, Kent was there too.

December Eighth, 1941
This is different.  The title refers to the day following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the United States into World War 2.  Presumably Kent meant to feature symbolism here, though it's so subtle I can't decide what it might be.

Monhegan - c.1948
A summer scene, but nearly as simplified as his snow scenes.

Blackhead, Monhegan - c.1950
Another aspect of Monhegan.

Mt. Assiniboine, Canadian Rockies - c.1952
Early fall in western Canada.

AuSable Valley, View of Whiteface - c.1955
This painting has much less of Kent's expected simplicity.  The setting is New York State near the Canadian border, Whiteface being a major mountain in the Adirondacks and a well-known (to New Yorkers) ski center.  Kent lived here in the Adirondacks for many years.

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