AUG. 17 - 20, 2019 PART 7: WILDERNESS & THE ALASKA PAINTINGS
ROCKWELL KENT WILDERNESS CENTENNIAL JOURNAL 100 YEARS LATER by Doug Capra © 2018-19 Part 7 – Wilderness & the Alaska Paintings: The Reviews Aug. 17-20, 2019 ABOVE – Bear Glacier , Alaska, 1919 BELOW – North Wind , Alaska, 1919 Once back in New York after Alaska, the foreshadow of success came rather quickly to Rockwell Kent. His pen and ink exhibition in May 1919 sold well and reviews matched the sales. Kent exhibited the paintings in March 1920. Critic Henry McBride did see what he called some difficulties with the paintings unrecognized, he believed, by most admirers. There is a tension in the art -- …two very different spirits that are still struggling for the possession of Mr. Kent’s soul,” the critic wrote. Kent straddled the line between realism and symbolism. North Wind seemed to garner much attention, and Kent regarded it along with Superman as his best work. ABOVE – Frozen Falls, Alaska 1919 BELOW – To the Universe,...