Customer Reviews

Distant Shores: The Odyssey of Rockwell Kent

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This effort may not appeal to everyone...certainly not as a coffee table book....but for those of us who follow Kent, his writings, his art and his life story, it is a commendable compliment to the study of his art. This book drove me nuts, so much so that I travelled to Greenland to see the Arctic light and shadows for myself. Kent captured the light and images of a unique land and this book provides a worthwhile reference to many of his Greenland landscapes. I sure would like to see one of his original landscapes hanging on my wall at home:-)

Distant Shores was published to accompany an exhibition of Rockwell Kent's wilderness artwork. The text, fully illustrated in black and white with photographs, examples of Kent's illustration work and occasional the work other artists', discusses the artist's background, his love of travel and his work. The full colour plates comprise the bulk of the book running from page 49 to page 112. There follows a concluding essay entitled "After the Odyssey"; a chronology, an exhibition list and a bibliography.

This is a well produced book, a paperback with a fold-out cover; the plates are bold and occupy the pages fully, occasionally crossing the gutter with the wider landscapes. There are over 50 paintings reproduced in full colour with a further 30 in black and white accompanying the text, along with around 30 other black and white images, mainly contemporary photographs. I do feel that the choice of type face for the text was ill advised; a round sans face is not well suited for text especially across a wide column width. However the superb colour plates make this book very worthwhile.