1927

Untitled

American, 1882 - 1971

Rockwell Kent was a figure larger than life. In Carl Zigrosser's words: "He is not only an artist; he is also a writer, an explorer and adventurer, a farmer, a sailor, a builder and craftsman with tools, a great illustrator, a former magazine editor, a lecturer and magnetic speaker, a great friend and lover, and, above all, a man" (The Artist in America, New York, 1942). (Zigrosser was Kent’s longtime friend and the founding curator of the Museum’s department of prints and drawings.) During Kent's most productive years as an artist in the teens, twenties, and thirties, he created a great number of lithographs, wood engravings, illustrations, and advertising designs in a crisp and powerful black-and-white style. He was also a political activist with a commitment to workers' causes, as demonstrated by the cover illustration for Fraternal Outlook shown here.