Object Details
Creator
Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971
Subject
Wildenstein, Felix
Phillips, Duncan
Hays, Lee
Untermeyer, Louis
Zigrosser, Carl
Robeson, Paul (1898-1976)
DuBois, W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano)
Ruggles, Carl
Stefansson, Vilhjalmur
Nearing, Helen
Nearing, Scott
Pach, Walter
Rasmussen, Knud
Reeves, Ruth
Seeger, Pete
Daniel, Charles
Cleland, T. M. (Thomas Maitland)
Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen)
Chamberlain, J. E.
Boyesen, Bayard
Chase, William Merritt
Freuchen, Peter
Gellert, Hugo
Gottlieb, Harry
Hartley, Marsden
Fitzgerald, James
Keller, Charles
Miller, Kenneth Hayes
Henri, Robert
Jones, Dan Burne
United American Artists
United Office and Professional Workers of America
United Scenic Artists
National Farmers' Union (U.S.)
National Maritime Union of America
American Artists' Congress
Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)
Artists League of America
Citizens' Committee for Government Arts Projects
Farmers Union of the New York Milk Shed
Federal Art Project
Federal Writers' Project
Macbeth Gallery
International Workers Order
Place of publication, production, or execution
United States
Physical Description
88 Linear feet
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into six series. Series 1 is arranged alphabetically. The arrangement of the remaining series is explained in each series description. Note that sealed materials that became available in 2000 were microfilmed separately on reels 5740-5741, but have integrated into this finding aid. Series 1: Alphabetical Files, circa 1900-1971, undated (Reels 5153-5249, 5256, 5740-5741) Series 2: Writings, 1906-1978, undated (Reels 5249-5252, 5741) Series 3: Art Work, 1910-1972, undated (Reels 5252, 5741) Series 4: Printed Matter, 1905-1993, undated (Reels 5252-5254) Series 5: Miscellaneous, 1859-1969, undated (Reels 5254, 5741) Series 6: Photographs, circa 1840-1970, undated (Reels 5254-5255, 5741)
Access Note / Rights
The microfilm of this collection has been digitized and is available online via AAA's website. Use of material not microfilmed or digitized requires an appointment.
Summary
The Rockwell Kent papers measure 88.0 linear feet and date from circa 1840 to 1993 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1935 to 1961. The collection provides comprehensive coverage of Kent's career as a painter, illustrator, designer, writer, lecturer, traveler, political activist, and dairy farmer.
Citation
Rockwell Kent papers, circa 1840-1993, bulk 1935-1961. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms
This site provides access to the papers of Rockwell Kent in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2008 from 106 reels of microfilm, and total 160404 images.
Researchers should note that the legibility of some materials is poor due to the microfilm quality.
Use Note
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Biography Note
Rockwell Kent (1882-1971), an energetic and multitalented man, pursued many interests and careers during his very long and active life. At various times he was an architect, draftsman, carpenter, unskilled laborer, painter, illustrator, printmaker, commercial artist, designer, traveler/explorer, writer, professional lecturer, dairy farmer, and political activist.
While studying architecture at Columbia University, Kent enrolled in William Merritt Chase's summer school at Shinnecock Hills, Long Island. He then redirected his career ambitions toward painting and continued to study with Chase in New York. Kent spent a summer working and living with Abbott H. Thayer in Dublin, New Hampshire, and attended the New York School of Art, where Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller were his teachers.
Critically and financially, Kent was a successful artist. He was very well known for his illustration work--particularly limited editions of the classics, bookplates, and Christmas cards. He was a prolific printmaker, and his prints and paintings were acquired by many major museums and private collectors. During the post-World War II era, Kent's political sympathies resulted in the loss of commissions, and his adherence to artistic conservatism and outspoken opposition to modern art led to disfavor within art circles. After many years of declining reputation in this country and unsuccessful attempts to find a home for the Kent Collection, Kent gave his unsold paintings--the majority of his oeuvre--to the Soviet Union, where he continued to be immensely popular.
An avid traveler, Kent was especially fascinated by remote, Arctic lands and often stayed for extended periods of time to paint, write, and become acquainted with the local inhabitants. Between 1918 and 1935, he wrote and illustrated several popular books about his experiences in Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, and Greenland. In the 1930s and 1940s, Kent was much in demand as a lecturer, making several nationwide tours under the management of a professional lecture bureau; he spoke mainly about his travels, but among his standard lectures were some on "art for the people."
In 1927, Kent purchased Asgaard Farm at AuSable Forks, New York, in the Adirondacks, where he lived for the remainder of his life, operating a modern dairy farm on a modest scale for many years.
As a young man, Kent met Rufus Weeks, became committed to social justice, and joined the Socialist Party. Throughout his life, he supported left-wing causes and was a member or officer of many organizations promoting world peace and harmonious relations with the Soviet Union, civil rights, civil liberties, antifascism, and organized labor. Kent was frequently featured as a celebrity sponsor or speaker at fund-raising events for these causes. In 1948, he ran unsuccessfully as the American Labor Party's candidate for Congress. Kent's unpopular political views eventually led to the dissolution of his dairy business, resulted in a summons to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and prompted the U.S. State Department to deny him a passport, an action that subsequently was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Kent wrote two autobiographies, This Is My Own (1940) and It's Me, O Lord (1955). In 1969, he was the subject of an oral history interview conducted by Paul Cummings for the Archives of American Art.
Language Note
English .
Provenance
In 1969, Rockwell Kent donated his papers to the Archives of American Art; textile samples were received in 1979, and his widow gave additional papers in 1971 and 1996. Letters to Rockwell Kent from wives Frances and Sally, sealed during Sally Kent Gorton's lifetime, became available for research after her death in 2000, and further material was donated to the Archives of American Art in 2001 by the Estate of Sally Kent [Shirley Johnstone] Gorton.
Digitization Note
This site provides access to the papers of Rockwell Kent in the Archives of American Art that were digitized in 2009 from 106 reels of microfilm. The papers have been scanned in their entirety, and total 160,770 images.
Location Note
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
Record number
(DSI-AAA_CollID)9557
(DSI-AAA_SIRISBib)211757
AAA_collcode_kentrock
Type
Poems
Sketches
Business records
Photographs
Drawings
Theme
Lives of artists
Data Source
Archives of American Art
Topic
Designers -- New York (State)
Mural painting and decoration
Politics and culture
Authors -- New York
Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States -- Political aspects
Dairy farms
Federal aid to the arts
Illustrators -- New York (State)
Illustration of books
Works of art
Art and war
Commercial art
World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war
Theme
Lives of artists
Record ID
AAADCD_coll_211757