Rockwell Kent (1882 - 1971)

Born in Tarrytown Heights, New York, Rockwell Kent was one of the most influential American artists and illustrators of his time. He was a student at the Horace Mann School in New York City and subsequently studied architecture at Columbia University. Kent developed a strong interest in painting and took up the study of art under William Merritt Chase at the Shinnecock Hills School. He later studied at the New York School, under Robert Henri and Kenneth Hayes Miller, and finally as an apprentice to Abbott Thayer at Dublin, New Hampshire. He wrote and illustrated a number of books including the three-volume Lakeside Press edition of Moby Dick, held by many to be one of the most beautiful books of the twentieth century.

His work is frequently identified with that of the American Social Realists and the great muralists of the 1920s and 1930s. A political activist, Rockwell Kent championed social causes from the 1930's until his death. His consistent support of radical causes contributed to a decline in his artistic popularity with the American public during the 1940s and 1950s, though his esteem among devotees of prints and printmaking has never flagged. He died at Plattsburgh, New York.

Charlotte

Lithograph in three colors, 1934; Edition of 100, printed by George Miller of New York. Image size 14-3/8" x 10-3/4””; sheet size 20-1/8" x 14-3”. Signed in pencil by Kent in the lower right corner. A beautiful impression with full margins in near-fine condition. There is light rippling along the top margin of the sheet, well away from the image, probably resulting from a prior mount, and faint adhesive residue at the upper corners verso. Very faint, unobtrusive toning in the image area. Burne-Jones 107.

$4,200

Big Baby (Greenland Mother)

Wood engraving, 1933, edition of 150. Image size 6” x 4½” sheet size 6-7/8” x 5-5/8”. A very good impression with moderate toning in the mat aperture. The print was glued to a substrate and trimmed in order to accommodate a cheap frame at some time in the past, alas. Scarce: according to our records, this print has appeared at auction only five times in the past twenty years.

$750

Unpublished illustration for Candide

Lithograph, ca 1928, edition unknown. Image size 5" x 2-1/8". Rockwell Kent's stamp in lower right corner. Candide was the very first book published by Random House in an edition of 1470 copies printed on imported French paper, 95 of which were hand colored by four different artists working under Kent's supervision. The type, designed by Lucian Bernhard, was cast by the Bauersche Giesserei, the venerable foundry established in 1837 in Frankfurt (spelled Frankfort in the colophon, ye gods!), Germany, and was hand set. All of the foregoing is an indication of the pain and expense that the publishers took to make Candide a most memorable debut by the house of Cerf and Klopfer. Someone - presumably one or both of the principals - decided that one of Kent's illustrations was more candide than they dared risk, and was omitted from the book as issued.

The illustration accompanies copy number 296 of the black-and-white edition of Candide, signed in ink by Kent in the colophon. The house drawn by Kent in the colophon was adopted as the logo of the new firm.

$1,100

Troubadour

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6-1/8" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-5/8" x 11-3/8". Frontispiece for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. This illustration is the only one in the set that was actually signed Kent. Good condition, with slight toning within the mat aperture.

SOLD

Illustration for All's Well That Ends Well

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, with light toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for As You Like It

$25

Illustration for Henry V

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform moderate toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Hamlet

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Very good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Cymbeline

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Near fine condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$40

Image for Henry VI, Part III

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Julius Caesar

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Henry VIII

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Near fine condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$40

Illustration for Love's Labours Lost

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for King John

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Image for Macbeth

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture, printer's ink smudging in left margin.

$25

Illustration for The Merchant Of Venice

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Measure For Measure

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for The Merry Wives Of Windsor

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Much Ado About Nothing

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Othello

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for The Rape Of Lucrece

Lithograph in two colors, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$40

Illustration for Richard III

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

SOLD

Illustration for Richard II

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Near fine condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$40

Illustration for Romeo And Juliet

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Twelfth Night

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Troilus And Cressida

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Two Gentlemen Of Verona

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Good condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$25

Illustration for Henry VI Part II

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations from The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Near fine condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture with the presence of marks from printer's ink.

$30

Image from Antony And Cleopatra

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Near fine condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture. Faint spotting in the upper portion of the image.

$40

Image from King Lear

Lithograph, 1936, edition of 1000. Image size 6¼" x 8¼"; sheet size 8-3/4" x 11-3/8" One of forty illustrations for The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare, Garden City Publishing Company, 1936. Doubleday, Doran and Company, the parent of Garden City, published one thousand boxed sets of the illustrations created by Rockwell Kent for the book. Near fine condition, uniform faint toning within the original mat aperture.

$40