This comprehensive overview of the life of Rockwell Kent in the Adirondacks is part of a much needed revival on this incredible American Renaissance man.Some of the pastoral/mountain scenes are particularly well reproduced.Many of these works were gathered for this exhibit from individuals and some on loan from Russia. Kent's association with the soviets caused a virtual artistic rejection from his American art world.
The book is small,and unfortunately only in paperback, but the color is excellent. The documentation and historical data is accurate and engaging. This book is the first effort to group Kent's Adirondack paintings. The layout is lovely and the book has an intimate feel to it.The book also showcases some of his well known and not so well known illustrations.The book reminds us that Kent was also an adept typographer, as he was a consumate graphic artist.Some of his Adirondack inspired graphics reflect the "back to the land" sensibility he embodied. I also had the opportunity to hear Ms. Welsh( author, historian) in person at the Adirondack museum where many of the paintings have been for the last year(1999-2000). She is an astute scholar and admirable expert on Mr. Kent.Kent is sure to find a more secure place in art history, now that he has once again gained recognition for his energetic and artistic art spirit.Welcome back Rockwell, it's about time.

In the graceful Adirondack mountains, Rockwell Kent bought farmland, built a house and barn and set up his studio for painting. He named the place "Asgaard," Norse for "farm of the gods." Operating from this spot he painted exquisite landscapes of the region, many of which the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, NY, has compiled into an exhibit in keeping with its mandate "to preserve and interpret the cultural history of its region." Although it was designed to supplement the exhibit, this book stands strong and worthy in its own right. It contains an excellent, 19-page biography of Kent, probing his idealistic nature and strong political beliefs which time and again got him in trouble with (1) his dairy customers, who deserted him, (2) the federal government, which lifted his passport, and (3) Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who grilled him in public hearings. The biography of this very complex man is skillfully assembled by Caroline Welsh. Her co-author Scott Ferris writes a fascinating 23-page detailed essay on the spiritual Kent -- how his paintings reflect powerful social forces that drove him. Ferris discusses the allegorical nature of Kent's pictures, especially in relation to political events, including World War II and the dreadful cold war with Russia.

The book itself is beautiful: printed on heavy, coated stock, with clear pictures in color on virtually every page. Most are 3 1/4" x 4 1/2" in size, varnished to add extra sparkle for the reader. For those who wish to dig more deeply into the life of this remarkable man, Ferris provides a selected checklist of his Adironadack works with detailed notes on every entry including Adirondack paintings not in the museum exhibit). He also lists Kent's books, drawings and prints, and five pages of selected references for further reading. -- Allen Long, Arlington, VA.

These essays, as suggested by the title, tell tales of life in the forest. The narrator, a neighbor of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe, describes his experiences on camping trips, hunting trips and the like. They're very different essays from the modern variety; today they'd probably be classified as short stories, instead. Although Warner does make clear his distaste for humanity's killing wildlife, he does not go into deep issues as is the fashion in today's popular essays. He just tells generally peaceful, sometimes humorous stories. I can best describe them as relaxing. I wouldn't recommend this for someone looking for piercing nineteenth-century insight into life, but I would for someone who wants to curl up with a Victorian story.