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Rockwell Kent: The Mythic
and the Modern
June 23 - October 16, 2005
(above: Artist in Greenland,
circa 1935, oil on canvas, 35 1/8 x 44 3/8 inches. The Baltimore Museum
of Art; purchase with exchange funds from the Edward Joseph Gallagher III
Memorial Collection, BMA 1991.10)
The most comprehensive
exhibition of its kind, Rockwell Kent: The Mythic and the Modern will
be on view at the Portland Museum of Art from June 23 through October 16,
2005. The exhibition brings together more than 130 of the artist's paintings,
drawings, and prints and explores Kent's vibrant career, his role
in developing a modern American art, and his significance in our cultural
heritage. The show, which commemorates the 100th anniversary of Kent's arrival
in Maine in June 1905, includes major loans from leading American and Russian
institutions, including the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of Art,
The State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, and The State Hermitage Museum, among
others. (right: Blue Monday, 1908, oil on canvas, 28
x 38 1/4 inches Brown University Campus Collections)
One of the great painters of his day, Rockwell Kent (1882-1971)
made innovations that reverberated through American culture in the first
half of the 20th century. He rose to prominence between the world wars as
a painter of extraordinary power whose adventurous life captured the American
imagination. Personifying the spirit of a restless era, Kent frequently
journeyed to remote corners of the Western Hemisphere including Newfoundland,
Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, and Greenland to paint land and seascapes.
Kent first visited the island of Monhegan, off the coast of Maine, in 1905.
He exhibited his first group of paintings from Maine in 1907 to critical
acclaim in New York City. Kent became one of the most watched painters
of his day as his contemporaries Edward Hopper and George Bellows arrived
on Monhegan to paint their visions of that distinctive landscape.
The exhibition reunites a remarkable group of Kent's Newfoundland
paintings and drawings borrowed from American and Russian public collections,
many not seen for generations. Kent moved to Newfoundland in 1914
with his wife and children, and over the course of a year there, he developed
a new body of work in response to the challenges presented by the Armory
Show of 1913, a showcase for new painting from Europe. Kent forged
a new American Symbolist aesthetic that evolved into his bold signature
style.
Kent also spent time in Greenland. During his two sojourns
there during the winters of 1931-32 and 1934-35, Kent painted icescapes
of extraordinary power -- towering glaciers and skies glowing with the dazzling
clarity of Arctic light. These visionary, utopian paintings included
passages of spare, almost abstract beauty.
Mythic American characters such as Captain Ahab and Paul
Bunyan were also the subjects of Kent's work, and a distinguished group
of Kent's drawings for Moby Dick and Paul Bunyan are brought
together in this exhibition for the first time. These pen, brush,
and ink drawings are examples of his mature style that art historian Paul
Cummings considered highly influential. In the broader cultural realm
of art and commerce, Kent is remembered for the innovations he brought to
institutional advertising. He invented a modern American vernacular
for the consumer that integrated mythic figures and neoclassical motifs.
Kent also promoted national cohesiveness during the Second World War through
his portrayals of the merchant mariner for American Export Lines.
A selection of pen and ink drawings from the American Export Lines series
will be included together with drawings of the American dream for Rahr Malting
Company that were published in 1947.
Kent's genius as a renderer with pen and ink played a central
role in gaining him recognition as a spirited modern. A lively group
of his 
inventive jazz-age drawings
will be assembled, many of which were published in the pages of Vanity
Fair. Frank Crowninshield, who edited Vanity Fair, considered
Kent "the most original, vigorous and promising" of his artists.
Carl Zigrosser, who became curator of prints and drawings at the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, envisioned Kent as a great satirist -- a Daumier for modern
America. Kent's witty, curvilinear drawings addressed issues of metropolitan
and suburban life, exposing the foibles and flouting the pretensions of
upper-class sophisticates. Editors of Vanity Fair, Puck,
Life, and the New York Tribune paired Kent's drawings with
the urbane columns of George S. Kaufman, Franklin P. Adams, Dorothy Parker,
and George S. Chappell. Also exhibited will be a dazzling group of Kent's
richly colored reverse paintings on glass from 1918, which represent Kent's
contribution to a simplified, modern style. (right: Headlands
and Sea, 1910, oil on canvas, 38 x 44 inches. Private collection)
The exhibition is guest curated by Jake Milgram Wien, an
independent curator and scholar of American cultural history. He curated
Rockwell Kent in Greenland for the Silkeborg Kunstnerhus in Denmark
and has published widely on Kent for scholarly books and journals.
Jessica Nicoll, Chief Curator and Curator of American Art
at the Portland Museum of Art, is coordinating curator for the exhibition.
A 200-page exhibition catalogue featuring 100 color illustrations will provide
fresh scholarship and essays by Wien with a foreword by Richard V. West,
director emeritus at the Frye Art Museum, Seattle, Washington.
Checklist for the exhibition
All works are by Rockwell Kent (United States, 18821971).
The date provided for a painting is the year in which it
was completed. If this is not known, or if the painting was probably reworked
at a later date, the date provided is the year in which it was begun. Dates
for beginning and completion of a painting are provided when they are known.
Dimensions are in inches, height preceding width. For works
on paper the dimensions are the image size, unless otherwise noted.
"Ink drawing" describes a drawing rendered with
pen and/or brush. Kent is known to have used a finely tipped, stiff brush
for much of his ink draftsmanship. Unless otherwise noted "ink"
means black ink.
"Linecut" means linecut reproduction after an
original ink drawing by the artist. Generally, a linecut is printed from
a photomechanically engraved plate.
-
- A New England Landscape (Oak Tree and Evergreen), 1903
- oil on canvas, 28 x 30 1/4
- Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire;
purchased through gifts from the Lathrop Fellows
-
- Dublin Pond, 1903
- oil on canvas, 28 x 30
- Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts;
purchased, Winthrop Hillyer Fund, 1904
-
- Mount Monadnock, 1903
- oil on canvas, 32 x 39 15/16
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine; gift of Robert and Suzanne
Ewing in memory of Charles Ewing, 1992.13
-
- Late Afternoon, Monhegan Island,
1906 or 1907
- oil on canvas, 34 1/4 x 44
- Jamie Wyeth
-
- Afternoon on the Sea, Monhegan,
1907
- oil on canvas, 34 x 44
- Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; museum purchase,
Richard B. Gump Trust Fund, Katherine Hayes Trust Fund, Art Trust Fund,
and Unrestricted Art Acquisition Endowment Income Fund, and partial gift
in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Langdon W. Post, 1994.107
-
- Gull Rock, Monhegan, 1907
- oil on panel, 7 x 6 3/4
- Collection of the Schwartz Family
-
- Headland, Monhegan, 1907
- brush and ink with traces of graphite and opaque white
on board, 5 1/2 x7 1/16
- Philadelphia Museum of Art. Purchased with the Lola Downin
Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1971
-
- Maine Coast, 1907
- oil on canvas, 28 1/8 x 38
- Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum; bequest of Mrs.
Elizabeth B. Noyce, 1997
-
- Maine Headlands, 1907
- oil on canvas, 34 x 44
- Tom and Ann Barwick
-
- Manana in Winter, 1907
- oil on composition board, 4 1/4 x 5 1/4
- Jamie Wyeth
-
- Toilers of the Sea, 1907
- oil on composition board, 10 x 11 7/8
- Private collection
-
- Winter-Monhegan Island, 1907
- oil on canvas, 33 7/8 x 44
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art; George A. Hearn Fund,
1917 (17.48.2)
-
- Blue Monday, 1908
- oil on canvas, 28 x 38 1/4
- Brown University Campus Collections
-
- Burial of a Young Man, 190811
- oil on canvas, 28 1/8 x 52 1/4
- The Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
-
- Men and Mountains, 1909
- oil on canvas, 34 1/8 x 43 7/8
- Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; gift of Ferdinand Howald
-
- The Road Roller, 1909
- oil on canvas, 34 1/8 x 44 1/4
- The Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
-
- Snow Fields (Winter in the Berkshires), 1909
- oil on canvas, 38 x 44
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
-
- Sunset, Monhegan, 1909
- oil on panel, 8 x 10
- Collection of John and Joanne Payson
-
- Down to the Sea, 1910
- oil on canvas, 42 1/2 x 56 1/4
- Brooklyn Museum of Art; gift of Frank L. Babbott 25.758
-
- Headlands and Sea, 1910
- oil on canvas, 38 x 44
- Private collection
-
- Pastoral, 1914
- oil on canvas, 33 x 43 1/2
- Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio. Gift of Ferdinand Howald
-
- Portrait of a Child (or My
Daughter Clara), 1914
- oil on canvas, 21 x 28
- Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
-
- Study of a Fisherman, 1914
- brush and ink over graphite on artist's board, 3 x 3
5/8
- Philadelphia Museum of Art; purchased with the Lola Downin
Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1971
-
- The Seats of the Mighty,
1914
- ink on paper, 5 1/16 x 5 1/16
- Plattsburgh State Art Museum, Plattsburgh State University
of New York
-
- The Speculative Builder,
1914
- ink on paper, 5 1/16 x 5 1/16
- Plattsburgh State Art Museum, Plattsburgh State University
of New York
-
- A Young Sailor (or Man
on a Mast), 191415
- oil on canvas, 36 x 30
- Chris Huntington and Charlotte McGill
-
- Figural Studies on Newfoundland Bay, 191415
- conté crayon on two sheets of paper, 4 1/4 x 6
1/4 and 3 1/4 x 3
- Private collection
-
- Man, The Abyss, 191415
- oil on canvas, 28 x 30
- Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence
-
- Newfoundland Dirge, 191415
- oil on canvas, 34 1/8 x 44
- Private collection
-
- Rescue in Newfoundland,
191415
- ink on paper, 5 1/4 x 6 13/16
- Philadelphia Museum of Art; purchased with the Lola Downin
Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1971
-
- Conception Bay, Newfoundland,
1915
- oil on panel, 11 11/16 x 15 5/8
- Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine; museum
purchase with funds donated anonymously
-
- Ice Floes, Newfoundland,
1915
- brush and ink over graphite on paper, 4 7/8 x 5 7/8
- Philadelphia Museum of Art; purchased with the Lola Downin
Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1971
-
- Newfoundland, 1915
- ink on paper, 4 9/16 x 15 11/16
- Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Massachusetts;
gift of Martha Gruening (class of 1909), 1932
-
- Newfoundland Ice, 1915
- oil on panel, 11 7/8 x 16
- Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio; gift of Ferdinand Howald
-
- Christmas card (South Sea Pirate), 1916
- linecut on paper, 5 7/8 x 8 1/2
- Private collection
-
- The Domino Room, 1916
- pen, brush, scraping tool, and ink with opaque white
over graphite on off-white coated artist's board (scratchboard), 7 11/16
x 9 15/16
- Philadelphia Museum of Art; purchased with the Lola Downin
Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1971
-
- Deer for Hildegarde (verse
by Heinrich Heine), 191617
- watercolor and ink on paper, 2 3/4 x 3
- Private collection
-
- Kathleen Whiting with Cape and Veil, 1917
- watercolor over graphite on paper, 7 1/8 x 5
- Private collection
-
- Actresses, 1917
- ink on paper, three drawings: 2 7/8 x 4 3/4 each
- Private collection, Seattle
-
- Boy and Leaping Stag, title
vignette for The Modern School, 1917
- brush and ink on paper, 3 7/16 x 3 1/8
- Philadelphia Museum of Art; purchased wth the Lola Downin
Peck Fund from the Carl and Laura Zigrosser Collection, 1971
-
- Clown on a Cart, 1917
- ink on cloth, 11 3/4 x 9 3/4
- Private collection
-
- Dime Museum, 1917
- ink on cloth, 5 1/8 x 5 3/4
- Private collection
-
- The Garden of the [Ziegfeld] Follies, 1917
- linecut in brown ink with hand-coloring on tan wove paper,
17 5/8 x 13 1/16
- Private collection
-
- The Jewel Box, 1917
- carved, gilded, and painted wooden box with hinged lid
and key, 4 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 7 1/2
- Private collection
-
- Youthful Dynamics, 1917
- ink on cloth, 5 1/8 x 5 11/16
- Private collection
-
- Ziegfeld Girl Marguerite St. Clair, 1917
- graphite on paper, 12 9/16 x 9 7/16 (sheet)
- Private collection
-
- Chart of Resurrection Bay,
1918
- linecut on paper, 10 1/2 x 14
- Private collection
-
- Rain Torrents, 1918
- ink with traces of graphite on tissue, 7 1/8 x 7 3/8
- Philadelphia Museum of Art; gift of Gordon A. Block,
Jr., 1944
-
- Untitled (Baby with Blue Bird),
1918
- oil on glass (reverse painting), 8 x 9 15/16
- Private collection
-
- Untitled (Maiden with Parasol),
1918
- oil on glass (reverse painting), mounted above mirror,
6 x 8
- Portland Museum of Art, Maine; museum purchase with support
from the Friends of the Collection and gift of Katherine Cook in memory
of her father, Dexter Cook, 2003.14
-
- Untitled (Pool Reflection),
1918
- oil on glass (reverse painting), 8 1/8 x 10
- Private collection
-
- Untitled (Sleeping Maiden with Book), 1918
- oil on glass (reverse painting), mounted above mirror,
8 1/8 x 10
- Private collection
-
- Untitled (Moon, Tree, Sun),
circa 1918
- conte crayon on paper, 6 1/2 x 8
- Private collection
-
- The Party Wire, 1918
- ink on paper, 14 5/16 x 10 15/16
- Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine; museum
purchase with funds donated anonymously
-
- The Social Zoo (I), 1918
- ink on paper, 6 3/4 x 10 3/4
- Collection of the Brandywine River Museum; museum purchase,
1986
-
- The Social Zoo (II), 1918
- ink on paper, 6 1/2 x 10 5/8
- Collection of the Brandywine River Museum; museum purchase,
1986
-
- Alaska Impression, 1919
- oil on panel, 16 x 20
- Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Garrick Stephenson
-
- Alaska Impression, 1919
- oil on panel, 8 x 9 15/16
- Private collection
-
- Alaska Impression, 1919
- oil on panel, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2
- Collection of Andrew Nelson
-
- Alaska Winter, 1919
- oil on canvas, 34 x 43 1/2
- Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Alaska
-
- Alaskan Sunrise, 1919
- oil on canvas, 28 x 44
- Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Maine; gift of E. Weyhe,
1953
-
- North Wind, 1919
- oil on canvas mounted on board, 41 1/4 x 34 1/8
- The Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C.
-
- Pelagic Reverie, 1919
- brush and ink over graphite on paper, 6 7/8 x 8 13/16