Kent, Rockwell, b. 1882 d. 1971
Author, Illustrator, Painter(Show Bio)
Rockwell Kent papers, [ca. 1840]-1993 (bulk ca. 1935-1961)
88 linear ft. (on 106 microfilm reels)
Addition: 1.7 linear ft.
Reel(s): 5153-5256
Correspondence, manuscripts, printed matter, art work, and photographs that provide comprehensive coverage of Kent's career as a painter, illustrator, designer, writer, lecturer, traveler, political activist, and dairy farmer.
Voluminous personal and professional correspondence with his three wives, five children, and other relatives, as well as with literally hundreds of friends--both lifelong and of brief duration--illuminates Kent's private life and contributes to understanding of his complex character. Among the many correspondents of note are: his wives Kathleen Whiting Kent, Frances Lee Kent, and Shirley (Sally) Johnstone Kent Gorton; his art teachers William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, and Kenneth Hayes Miller; fellow artists Elmer Adler, Tom Cleland, Arthur B. Davies, Hugo Gellert, Harry Gottleib, Marsden Hartley, Charles Keller, and Ruth Reeves; collectors Duncan Phillips and Dan Burne Jones; critics J. E. Chamberlain and Walter Pach; and dealers Charles Daniel, Felix Wildenstein, and Macbeth Galleries. Kent corresponded with such diverse people as Arctic explorers Peter Freuchen, Knud Rasmussen, and Vilhjalmar Steffanson; composer Carl Ruggles and songwriters Lee Hays and Pete Seeger; civil rights pioneers Paul Robeson and Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois; writers Bayard Boyesen, Scott and Helen Nearing, and Louis Untermeyer; and art historian and print curator Carl Zigrosser.
Kent's interest and involvement in the labor movement are reflected in correspondence with officials and members of a wide variety and large number of unions and related organizations, among them: the Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union of America, Farmers' Union of the New York Milk Shed, International Workers Order, National Maritime Union, and United Office and Professional Workers of America. Of special interest is his participation, often in leadership roles, in various attempts to organize artists. Files on the American Artists' Congress, Artists League of America, The Artists Union, United American Artists, and United Scenic Artists contain particularly valuable material on the movement.
A supporter of New Deal efforts to aid artists, Kent was actively interested in the various programs and often was critical of their limitations; he advocated continuing federal aid to artists after the Depression abated. Iincluded within the collection is correspondence with the Federal Arts Project, Federal Fine Arts Project, Federal Writers' Project, and the War Department, as well as correspondence with the Citizens' Committee for Government Art Projects and President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the subject.
Manuscripts include "Rockwellkentiana," "Greenland Journal," "To Thee!," "Of Men and Mountains," "A Voyager's Log, Part II," and final chapters of his autobiography, "Its Me O Lord," covering the period after publication in 1955 until just before his death in 1971. Also included are various articles, speeches, radio addresses, book and exhibition reviews, catalog essays, and poems by Kent.
Printed matter including publications and exhibition posters; news clippings about Kent, and articles written and or illustrated by Kent; also, clipping files on subjects of interest to him.
Art work consists of drawings, prints, and sketches including work done in Greenland, and set designs for the Benjamin Britten opera "Peter Grimes." Also included are drawings by children.
Photographs are of works of art by Kent, places visited by Kent, Kent and family (including portraits by Arnold Genthe, ca. 1920, and Carl Van Vechten, ca. 1930), and miscellaneous subjects including: "Direction" and other boats, home and Asgaard farm, Eskimo artifacts, and whales. See also unmicrofilmed addition. Also included is a reel of 35mm motion picture film, 3 min., no sound, b&w (transferred to video) of Kent in Greenland?, showing dog sled, Kent and family?, and village scenes.
Donated 1969 and 1971 by Mr. and Mrs. Rockwell Kent, and in 1996 by Shirley (Sally) Kent Gorton. Funding for the processing, microfilming, and publication of the finding aid was provided by The Henry Luce Foundation. Additional photos, art works and writings were donated 2001 by the Shirley Gorton Johnstone estate.
How to Use this Collection
- Permission to quote, reproduce or publish may be needed from Plattsburgh State University of New York art museum.
- Patrons must use microfilm copy.
- Microfilm reels 5153-5256 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
- Please read the Finding Aid for more detailed information on this collection.
- Selected images of documents in this collection are online.
- For more information on using resources at the Archives of American Art, please visit our Ask Us page
Also in the Archives:
