This collection consists of correspondence, prints, books, and some ephemera. The bulk of the correspondence is from RK to his second wife, Frances, which dates mostly from their separation through his death.
The second series of letters is from RK to Kendall Lee Milestone (1903-1978), Frances’s sister, who was married to Lewis “Millie” Milestone (1895-1980) a Hollywood motion picture director. She owned the neighboring farm to Asgaard Farm in Au Sable Forks, NY. Much of RK’s correspondence with Kendall concerns the operation and management of the two farms as well as potential Hollywood business opportunities for Kent .
Title page and frontispiece of After Long Years by Rockwell Kent.. Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries.
Collection Overview
Rockwell Kent (1882-1971) was born in Tarrytown, NY and spent much of his early life in and around New York City. In his late teens he studied painting with William Merritt Chase. He studied architecture at Columbia University before withdrawing to become an artist. Painters Robert Henri and Abbott Thayer were later teachers. His first solo show was in 1907 in Manhattan. An early exposure to travel became a passion throughout his life as he visited, painted, and wrote about his numerous travels to Monhegan Island, Maine, Newfoundland, Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, Ireland, and Greenland, among others. Besides his renown as a painter, Kent was also a gifted printmaker, book illustrator, designer, commercial artist, and popular travel author. A member of the socialist party since his 20s, Kent maintained a life-long commitment to international, national, and local political activism. In the 1940s and 50s his leftist sympathies would cost him both popularity and income as an artist. Kent was married three times: from 1909 to 1925 to Kathleen Whiting, with whom they had five children; from 1926 to 1940 to Frances Lee; and from 1940 to his death to Shirley Sally Johnstone. In 1927 Kent and Frances purchased a dairy farm, and named it Asgaard in Au Sable Forks in the eastern Adirondacks. Throughout his career as an artist and world traveler, Kent would operate Asgaard as a working farm and call it home for the rest of his life.