The Prints of Rockwell Kent: Selections from the Ralf C. Nemec Collection A Life and Art of His Own: The Paintings of Rockwell Kent from North Country CollectionsWood, Whitney-Renz, and Hoopes galleries April 8 to July 22, 2018Complementary exhibitions celebrate Rockwell Kent (1882 – 1971), the American painter, printer, and illustrator, who settled in the Adirondacks in 1928. The print exhibition, organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, California, includes illustrations; images related to his love of wildernesses, including the Adirondacks; and works demonstrating his social activism, all drawn from the collection of Ralf C. Nemec, who has the world’s most extensive collection of Kent’s prints. In addition, there will be a selection of ceramics also from Nemec’s collection, decorated with designs by Kent. The artist painted many of his works in his Adirondack studio based on drawings, sketches, and notes taken during extensive travels to Greenland, Tierra del Fuego, and other extreme locations. In a complementary exhibition, Guest Curator Caroline Welsh has drawn together paintings from North Country collections, some seldom seen publicly. Rockwell Kent was an architect, author, illustrator, painter, printmaker, and ceramicist. He studied architecture at Columbia University, painted under William Merritt Chase at Shinnecock Hills School, and studied painting with Robert Henri at the New York School of Art, with classmates George Bellows and Edward Hopper (both of whom are represented in The Hyde’s permanent collection).His paintings, woodcuts, and prints showcase the natural wilderness, fascinating those who saw his works and were transported on his many adventures. As author and illustrator of popular accounts of his travels, he met with considerable commercial success. Later, he illustrated books, including such classic literature as Moby Dick and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. |