Rockwell Kent papers
name: label: Creator
content: Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971
label: Names
content: American Artists' Congress
label: Names
content: Artists League of America
label: Names
content: Artists' Union (New York, N.Y.)
label: Names
content: Citizens' Committee for Government Arts Projects
label: Names
content: Farmers Union of the New York Milk Shed
label: Names
content: Federal Art Project
label: Names
content: Federal Writers' Project
label: Names
content: International Workers Order
label: Names
content: Macbeth Gallery
label: Names
content: National Farmers' Union (U.S.)
label: Names
content: National Maritime Union of America
label: Names
content: United American Artists
label: Names
content: United Office and Professional Workers of America
label: Names
content: United Scenic Artists
label: Names
content: Boyesen, Bayard
label: Names
content: Chamberlain, J. E.
label: Names
content: Chase, William Merritt, 1849-1916
label: Names
content: Cleland, T. M. (Thomas Maitland), 1880-1964
label: Names
content: Daniel, Charles, 1878-1971
label: Names
content: Davies, Arthur B. (Arthur Bowen), 1862-1928
label: Names
content: DuBois, W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt), 1868-1963
label: Names
content: Fitzgerald, James, 1899-1971
label: Names
content: Freuchen, Peter, 1886-1957
label: Names
content: Gellert, Hugo, 1892-1985
label: Names
content: Gottlieb, Harry, 1895-
label: Names
content: Hartley, Marsden, 1877-1943
label: Names
content: Hays, Lee, 1914-1981
label: Names
content: Henri, Robert, 1865-1929
label: Names
content: Jones, Dan Burne
label: Names
content: Keller, Charles, 1914-2006
label: Names
content: Miller, Kenneth Hayes, 1876-1952
label: Names
content: Nearing, Helen
label: Names
content: Nearing, Scott, 1883-1983
label: Names
content: Pach, Walter, 1883-1958
label: Names
content: Phillips, Duncan, 1886-1966
label: Names
content: Rasmussen, Knud, 1879-1933
label: Names
content: Reeves, Ruth, 1892-1966
label: Names
content: Robeson, Paul (1898-1976)
label: Names
content: Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945
label: Names
content: Ruggles, Carl, 1876-1971
label: Names
content: Seeger, Pete, 1919-2014
label: Names
content: Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 1879-1962
label: Names
content: Untermeyer, Louis, 1885-1977
label: Names
content: Wildenstein, Felix, 1883-1952
label: Names
content: Zigrosser, Carl, 1891-
topic: label: Occupation
content: Painters -- New York (State)
label: Topic
content: Designers -- New York (State)
label: Topic
content: Mural painting and decoration
label: Topic
content: Politics and culture
label: Topic
content: Authors -- New York
label: Topic
content: Art, Modern -- 20th century -- United States -- Political aspects
label: Topic
content: Dairy farms
label: Topic
content: Federal aid to the arts
label: Topic
content: Illustrators -- New York (State)
label: Topic
content: Illustration of books
label: Topic
content: Works of art
label: Topic
content: Art and war
label: Topic
content: Commercial art
label: Topic
content: World War, 1939-1945 -- Art and the war
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: 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.
creator: label: Creator
content: Kent, Rockwell, 1882-1971
setName: label: See more items in
content: Rockwell Kent papers
abstract: label: Summary
content: 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.
bioghist: label: Biographical Note
content: 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.
function: label: Function
content: Labor unions
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 88 Linear Feet
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1840-1993
label: Date
content: bulk 1935-1961
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives of American Art
identifier: label: Identifier
content: AAA.kentrock
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Poems
label: Type
content: Sketches
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Photographs
label: Type
content: Drawings
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: 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)
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was processed by Catherine Stover and Lisa Lynch in 1998 and microfilmed on reels 5153-5256. Sealed materials that became available in 2000 were microfilmed separately on reels 5740-5741. Funding for the processing, microfilming, and publication of the finding aid was provided by The Henry Luce Foundation. The finding aid was modified during EAD conversion by Stephanie Ashley in 2002. In 2008, the microfilm was digitized with funding provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Papers suffered significant water damage after being rescued from the fire that destroyed the Kent home in 1969. A small percentage could not be salvaged, and a few items (particularly letters written in fountain pen) are faded or smeared to the point of illegibility.
altformavail: label: Alternative Forms Available
content: 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.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Poems
label: Genre/Form
content: Sketches
label: Genre/Form
content: Business records
label: Genre/Form
content: Photographs
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Content Note
content: The Rockwell Kent papers measure 88 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.

Circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the papers are highlighted in an article by Garnett McCoy ("The Rockwell Kent Papers," in the Archives of American Art Journal, 12, no. 1 [January 1972]: 1-9), recommended reading for researchers interested in the collection. The collection is remarkably complete, for in the mid 1920s Kent began keeping carbon copies of all outgoing letters, eventually employing a secretary (who became his third wife and continued her office duties for the remainder of Kent's life). 

Series 1: Alphabetical Files contain Kent's personal and professional correspondence, along with business records of the dairy farm and associated enterprises; also included are printed matter on a wide variety of topics and promotional literature relating to organizations and causes of interest to him. Voluminous correspondence with his three wives, five children, and other relatives, as well as with literally hundreds of friends, both lifelong and of brief duration, illuminates Kent's private life and contributes to understanding of his complex character. Among the many correspondents of note are: his art teachers William Merritt Chase, Robert Henri, and Kenneth Hayes Miller; fellow artists Tom Cleland, Arthur B. Davies, James Fitzgerald, Hugo Gellert, Harry Gottleib, Marsden Hartley, Charles Keller, and Ruth Reeves; collectors Duncan Phillips and Dan Burne Jones; critics J. E. Chamberlain and Walter Pach; and dealers Charles Daniel, Felix Wildenstein, and Macbeth Galleries. Kent corresponded with such diverse people as Arctic explorers Peter Freuchen, Knud Rasmussen, and Vilhjalmar Steffanson; composer Carl Ruggles and songwriters Lee Hays and Pete Seeger; civil rights pioneers Paul Robeson and Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois; writers Bayard Boyesen, Scott and Helen Nearing, and Louis Untermeyer; and art historian and print curator Carl Zigrosser.

Kent's interest and involvement in the labor movement are reflected in correspondence with officials and members of a wide variety and large number of unions and related organizations, among them: the Farmers' Educational and Cooperative Union of America, Farmers' Union of the New York Milk Shed, International Workers Order, National Maritime Union, and United Office and Professional Workers of America. Of special interest is his participation, often in leadership roles, in various attempts to organize artists. Files on the American Artists' Congress, Artists League of America, The Artists Union, United American Artists, and United Scenic Artists contain particularly valuable material on the movement.

A supporter of New Deal efforts to aid artists, Kent was actively interested in the various programs and often was critical of their limitations; he advocated continuing federal aid to artists after the Depression abated. The Kent papers include correspondence with the Federal Arts Project, Federal Fine Arts Project, Federal Writers Project, and the War Department, as well as correspondence with the Citizens' Committee for Government Art Projects and President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the subject.

Kent's professional correspondence documents exhibitions, sales, consignments, and reproduction of prints and paintings. He kept meticulous records of his advertising commissions and illustration work. Detailed correspondence with publishers and printers indicates Kent's involvement in the technical aspects of production and provides a good overview of the publishing industry during the mid-twentieth century.

Business records of Asgaard Farm include records of the dairy and transfer of ownership to its employees, tax and employee information, and documents concerning several related business ventures such as distributor ships for grain, feed, and farm implements.

Series 2: Writings consists of notes, drafts, and completed manuscripts by Rockwell Kent, mainly articles, statements, speeches, poems, introductions, and reviews. The Kent Collection given to Friendship House, Moscow, in 1960, was augmented later by a set of his publications and the illustrated manuscripts of many of his monographs. Also included are a small number of manuscripts by other authors.

Series 3: Artwork consists mainly of drawings and sketches by Kent; also included are works on paper by other artists, many of whom are unidentified, and by children.

Series 4: Printed Matter consists of clippings, exhibition catalogs and announcements, brochures, broadsides, programs, and newsletters. These include items by and about Kent and his family, as well as articles written and/or illustrated by him, and reviews of his books. There is also material on a variety of subjects and causes of interest to him. Additional printed matter is included among the alphabetical files, mainly as attachments to correspondence.

Series 5: Miscellaneous includes biographical material, legal documents, and memorabilia. Artifacts received with papers include textile samples, a silk scarf, dinnerware, ice bucket, and rubber stamp, all featuring designs by Rockwell Kent. Also with this series are a variety of documents including a phrenological analysis of an ancestor, lists of supplies for expeditions, a hand-drawn map of an unidentified place, and technical notes regarding art materials and techniques.

Series 6: Photographs includes photographs of Kent, his family and friends, travel, and art number that over one thousand. Also included here are several albums of family and travel photographs.