Rockwell Kent
Rockwell Kent was an American artist, author, and social activist born into a middle-class family in the late 19th century. He began his artistic journey at the young age of sixteen and later studied architecture at Columbia University while pursuing art. Kent gained recognition through his first exhibition at the National Academy of Design in 1905 and helped organize the first Exhibition of Independent Artists in New York in 1910. His travels, particularly to Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, greatly influenced his artistic output and literary works, including the popular "Wilderness" and "N by E."
Kent was also a prolific commercial artist, illustrating classic literature and contributing to publications under various pseudonyms. He was politically engaged, openly opposing fascism and advocating for workers’ rights, which led to his participation in leftist organizations. Despite facing scrutiny during the Red Scare and allegations of communism, Kent remained committed to his beliefs, including advocating for nuclear disarmament and civil rights. His artwork often depicted expansive wilderness landscapes, reflecting his deep appreciation for nature and life. Kent’s legacy continues to evoke interest for his contributions to art and his complex political stances.
Subject Terms
Rockwell Kent
Painter
- Born: June 21, 1882
- Birthplace: Tarrytown Heights, New York
- Died: March 13, 1971
- Place of death: Plattsburgh, New York
Identification: American artist, illustrator, and writer
Significance: Accused of having communist sympathies, Kent was harassed by the U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities
Born into an established middle-class family, Kent began studying art at sixteen and later took evening art lessons while learning architecture at Columbia University. His first jobs were in drafting, but art soon took over. He held his first exhibition in 1905 at the National Academy of Design in New York City. In 1910, he helped organize the first Exhibition of Independent Artists in New York.
Kent’s travels influenced his art and writing. He emigrated to Newfoundland in 1914, but was charged with pro-German activities and deported a year later. To fund a trip to Alaska, he incorporated himself and sold shares to friends. Wilderness (1920), his book about his Alaskan experience, increased his popularity. He described his 1922-1923 trip to Tierra del Fuego in Voyaging Southward from the Strait of Magellan (1924). N by E (1930), about his first journey to Greenland, became a Literary Guild selection. Meanwhile, Kent also worked as a commercial artist, sold drawings and cartoons to magazines, and illustrated books. In addition to his own writings, he illustrated new editions of such classics as The Decameron, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, William Shakespeare’s plays, Leaves of Grass, and Moby Dick. Under the pseudonym “Hogarth, Jr.,” he published drawings in Vanity Fair. He was also a contributing editor of Colophon and editor of the modernist publication Creative Art.
Kent fought openly against all forms of fascism. A champion of independent art, he resisted domination by conservative artists, tried to organize an artists’ union for the Congress of Industrial Organizations, and served as president of the International Workers Order, an allegedly communist group dissolved by court order in 1950. When he painted a mural at the U.S. Post Office Building in Washington, D.C., in 1937, he included a message in Eskimo calling for Puerto Rican independence. In 1939, he was charged as a communist before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), and ten years later HUAC linked him to eighty left-wing groups. Kent denied being a communist but was a Socialist Party member. In 1949 he helped write the Stockholm Appeal, a document calling for a complete ban of atomic weapons. In 1953, he evoked his Fifth Amendment rights when called to testify before Senator Joseph McCarthy. Although these accusations tarnished his reputation in the United States, they earned little attention elsewhere. In 1960 he gave the Soviet Union eighty landscapes and eight hundred other drawings, which were installed at the Pushkin Museum and the Hermitage. When the Soviet Union awarded him the Lenin Peace Prize in 1967, Kent donated the money to North Vietnam. Sympathetic to the U.S. Civil Rights movement, he also supported the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. A life-long nonconformist who yearned to retain youthful values, Kent believed that art is a by-product of enthusiasm for life. He was not concerned with the principles of art, which for him came naturally. He painted rugged scenes of mountains and seascapes, in which humans played insignificant roles. His erotic book illustrations suggest his enjoyment of life and sex.