Exhibit Examines the Odyssey of Rockwell Kent

Art Business News, April, 2001

Remembered for his striking illustrations for Mob/Dick and other classics, Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) was most admired during his lifetime as a painter of dramatic landscapes of remote places. From 1905 through the 1930s, Kent tested himself personally and discovered his art in harsh, beautiful and sparsely populated landscapes. These paintings are the subject of a new exhibit entitled"Distant Shores: The Odyssey of Rockwell Kent" at the Terra Museum of American Art until May 20. Drawing on material from private and public collections throughout the world, "Distant Shores" presents more than 90 paintings, prints and drawings by Kent--all of them inspired by the artist's experiences in wilderness areas.

The exhibit traces Kent's life and work in five locales: Maine's Monhegan Island, Newfoundland, Alaska, Tierra del Fuego and Greenland. A highlight of the exhibit is a selection of illustrations that Kent made for his landmark edition of the Herman Melville classic Moby Dick.

According to Laurie Norton Moffatt, director of the Norman Rockwell Museum at Stockbridge, "It is time to reinstate Rockwell Kent within the roster of important American artists of the 20th century. Like too many others, he dropped into obscurity when the modernist movement made no room for his figurative and landscape compositions. Yet the paintings Kent created on his journeys into distant wilderness settings are enduring works of art, which remain beautiful, haunting, spare and pure."

"Kent traveled to the outer edges of the physical world to search his own path, often without thought of the consequences," said Guest Curator Constance Martin. "His boundless energy drove him to seek out cold winds and rough seas in places far from the security of home. `Distant Shores' tells the story of how this complex man found through his passionate love of wilderness, a stepping-stone to the life of the spirit."

Organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum, the exhibit will travel next to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art from June 17 to Sept. 23.