作者: Edward Hoagland

<P>ROCKWELL KENT (1882-1971) was one of America”s most celebrated graphic artists. At the height of his career, during the 1930″s and 1940″s, Kent”s artwork appeared virtually everywhere. Although his illustrations for The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and Moby Dick are perhaps his most famous artistic achievements, Kent also created the “random house” that, despite revision through the years, has been the colophon of that company since its inception in 1928. A highly vocal political activist, Kent”s refusal to comply with Mc Carthy”s Committee on Un-American Activities and his subsequent denunciation of the Vietnam War resulted in his general dismissal from the art world. Kent”s travel books, which include Wilderness, Voyaging, N by E, Salamina, and Greenland Journal, have all appeared in limited editions since his death-a tribute to their perennial appeal.</P>