Rockwell Kent
American, 1882 - 1971Au Sable River, Winter, ca. 1961-62
Not on view
Oil on canvas
Dimensions22 1/4 × 28 in. (56.5 × 71.1 cm)
Framed: 28 1/4 × 34 3/8 in. (71.8 × 87.3 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome O. Eddy, by exchange, 1994.5
Though primarily a painter, Rockwell Kent was also an exceptional graphic artist, as well as a writer and political activist, being frequently involved in anti-establishment political causes and anti-academic art organizations. He published several books, one of them an autobiography, and was a prolific illustrator, both of his writings and of the works of others. Stylistically, Kent's paintings are simplified, yet realistic representations of the natural world.
This painting represents Kent's farm in Au Sable Forks, New York, near the Adirondacks. The region around the farm and the nearby mountains served as an important source for his paintings, especially from the 1940s through the 1960s. Precision and linearity became increasingly important in Kent's later style, which can be seen in the crisp lines of this painting.
