Story and photos by Brionne Thompson
Inside the walls of SUNY Plattsburgh’s Feinberg Library is one of the most significant art collections in the world, and most people unknowingly pass it by.
The Rockwell Kent Gallery is often seen as a quiet corner of campus, but stepping inside reveals something much bigger. The gallery shows the life of a man who used his art, his voice and his career to stand up for human rights during one of the most difficult periods in American history.
Rockwell Kent’s career went far beyond his work as a painter of the Adirondacks. He was a printmaker, illustrator, author, farmer, businessman and political activist.
During the Jim Crow era, when racial segregation and discrimination consumed our daily life in America, Kent spoke openly about human rights and labor rights. He believed in fairness for working people and that artists deserved ownership of their work and fair pay.
Because of his political views, Kent was labeled a communist and blacklisted by major institutions. Exhibitions closed their doors to him, and museums started to distance themselves. Despite this, he continued to create outstanding art.
What makes the Rockwell Kent Gallery so remarkable is that it not only displays his landscapes, but it also shows the full range of his life. Visitors can see detailed pen and ink drawings that show the work he produced just with his hand.
They can also view prints made from metal plates, understanding how he mastered the printing process to create works that could reach almost anyone. His illustrations for Moby Dick, published in 1930, helped gain an interest in the novel, and this work remains one of the most requested works connected to his name.
His commercial pieces included textiles and a dinnerware series called “Our America,” which showcased different regions and industries of the United States. Kent was strategic about the business of art and dedicated himself early in his career to protect his copyright and ensure he was paid for his work
Beyond the artwork, the Rockwell Kent collection includes photographs, letters, exhibition materials and political resources that connect his art to the world events that happened around his time. Kent traveled to Greenland, Russia and other foreign lands; those experiences shaped both the images he created and his activism. His engagement with Russian literature influenced his thinking, and some of his paintings draw inspiration directly from Russian plays and authors. Kent later donated a large number of works to museums in the former Soviet Union, primarily because he felt rejected by American institutions during times of political tension.
Art enthusiasts continue to travel to Plattsburgh because this campus holds the largest single showing of Kent’s work. Recently, Molly Eckel, assistant curator of American art at the Columbus Museum of Art, visited to conduct research for her love of American art and Kent’s work. For curators like her, seeing the work in person is essential. Eckel noted that what stands out in this gallery is how it presents the full scope of Kent’s practice, from fine art to commercial design. The access students have here is rare: Many major cities do not offer this kind of direct connection to an artist of this level of significance.
Despite all of this, most students walk past the gallery without realizing its importance. Rockwell Kent is known around the world, but in his own North Country setting, his legacy can often feel quiet. That quiet feeling is part of why visiting the gallery feels less like a routine museum stop and more like discovering something hidden in plain sight.
Visiting the Rockwell Kent gallery is a chance to see how art and activism can exist in the same life, even when the political tensions are high.