Just got back from an incredible exhibition of Rockwell Kent’s life’s work at the Portland Museum of Art. I first caught onto R.K. in high school, when the copy of Candide that happened to fall into my hands was his illustrated edition. It was without a doubt the most beautiful book I had ever seen at that time, with its unique initial capitals to head each chapter, odd figures huddling right in amongst the text, and illustrations resting naturally wherever they made sense. It was almost like an enchanted book.

The exhibit didn’t disappoint, and indeed it expanded and enlarged my sense of his vision. What a towering, expansive spirit this guy had. The show was extremely comprehensive, covering everything from his snarky cartoonish magazine illustration (done under the name ‘Hogarth, Jr.’), his giant compelling landscape oils, first editions of his several books, highly personal gifts and love letters to his various paramours, annotated maps, and his dramatic definite pen-and-ink stuff that was so much a part of that 1930s socialist aesthetic.

His biography is impressive as well. Between stints doing commercial ads in New York, he took off on sailing voyages across the North Atlantic, lived in the mountains of the Tierra Del Fuego, resided for years at a time in Greenland, Newfoundland, Alaska, and Monhegan, ME. Because Kent was a pinko commie, he fell out of favor in the US during McCarthyism and gave a lot of his works to the Soviet Republic. Many are still owned by institutions in Russia and have not been seen in the U.S. for more than 40 years. It’s so interesting [and honest] to see that while he was hard at work on esoteric, highfalutin art ideas, he was also illustrating like a madman for the publishing industry and churning out the ads for cruise lines and cars (which were also really amazing). It was the kind of exhibit you just take a bath in. Fantastic.

by subRosie at 7:12 pm under advertising, art & media, design, general, illustration, media, printed materials
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