Wilderness: A Journal of Quiet Adventure in Alaska―Including Extensive Hitherto Unpublished Passages from the Original Journal

Wesleyan University Press, 1996. Softcover. Very Good. 7x0x10. In Very Good+ condition. In August 1918 Rockwell Kent and his 9-year-old son settled into a primitive cabin on an island near Seward, Alaska. Kent, who during the next three decades became America's premier graphic artist, printmaker, and illustrator, was seeking time, peace, and solitude to work on his art and strengthen ties with his son. This reissue of the journal chronicling their 7-month odyssey describes what Kent called "an adventure of the spirit." He soon discovers how deeply he is "stirred by simple happenings in a quiet world" as man and boy face both the mundane and the magnificent: satisfaction in simple chores like woodchopping or baking; the appalling gloom of long and lonely winter nights; hours of silence while each works at his drawings; crystalline moonlight glancing off a frozen lake; killer whales cavorting in their bay. Richly illustrated by Kent's drawings, the journal vividly re-creates that sense of great height and space ― both external and internal ― at the same time that it celebrates a wilderness now nearly lost to us. Rockwell Kent was revered for his ability to capture the nature he so loved in visually arresting, oftentimes mystical landscape paintings. He was also an accomplished wood engraver and illustrator, whose works appeared in some of the most beloved books and iconic political posters of his time. While his leftist political views coupled with the advent of Abstract Expressionism caused his work to fall out of fashion near the end of his career, for decades his works captured the essence of natural wilderness. In addition, he was a strong advocate of a homegrown American art tradition. From today's perspective, he can also be seen as an early voice in eco-conscious art: "I'm not trying to make people love my art," he said, "Through my art, I'm trying to make people love nature. That's all.