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ROCKWELL KENT
(American, 1882-1971)
Baker of the Bread of Abundance, 1945
Oil on canvas
37 15/16 x 44”
On loan from the Department of Mining Engineering, University of Kentucky L1988.2

Rockwell Kent studied architecture before turning his attention to painting, printmaking, and illustrating. He first studied art in New York under the direction of renowned American Impressionist William Merritt Chase and urban realist Robert Henri, who was the leader of the Ashcan School of American Painting. Kent is best remembered, however, for his realistic landscape paintings that focus on the untamed terrain of locations such as Alaska, Tierra del Fuego, and Greenland. An adventure traveler, Kent not only painted the locations that he visited, but he also wrote about them. In addition, he illustrated a number of classic works of literature, including Voltaire’s Candide (1928) and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1930). The Baker of the Bread of Abundance, which appears to illustrate its own story, showcases Kent’s propensity toward strong, contrasting light and color. Here, the family dining at the table is awash in the warm illumination that radiates from the lump of coal. In the large hands of the looming figure, Kent may have intended the coal to symbolize American abundance and family togetherness at the end of World War II.