# Rockwell Kent artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/rockwell-kent/
Profile generated: 2026-08-18T17:52:07.422Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1882-06-21
- Death date: 1971-03-13
- Nationality: American
- Common media: Painting, Lithography, Wood engraving, Printmaking, Book and magazine illustration

## Portrait

![Rockwell Kent](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Rockwell_Kent.jpg/1280px-Rockwell_Kent.jpg)
Unidentified photographer (according to SI source) · Public domain
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rockwell_Kent.jpg

## About Rockwell Kent

Rockwell Kent (1882–1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and writer whose career joined fine art with a substantial body of graphic and publishing work. Authority records identify him specifically as a painter, lithographer, wood engraver, and illustrator of books and magazines. His bibliography also reflects the travel and maritime side of his public life: volumes such as N by E, Voyaging Southward from the Strait of Magellan, and Salamina circulated with his own illustrations. Collectors therefore encounter Kent across several overlapping contexts—paintings, works on paper, individual prints, illustrated books, and other editioned material—rather than through a single medium. Museum and collection profiles at MoMA, the National Gallery of Art, the British Museum, and Art UK reinforce his established institutional identity. For appraisal purposes, this breadth makes exact object identification important: a painting, a print, and an illustrated publication should not be treated as interchangeable examples of his market.

## Common works and media

Collectors may encounter Rockwell Kent paintings, lithographs, wood engravings, other prints, works on paper, book illustrations, magazine illustrations, and illustrated publications. His authority and bibliographic records document both fine-art production and extensive work as an author-illustrator. For editioned graphics, the specific technique, edition or impression details, paper, inscriptions, signature status, and condition should be recorded before selecting comparable sales.

## Market and appraisal context

Appraisily's public index reports substantial auction activity for Rockwell Kent, with matched records covering paintings, works on paper, prints, and other categories. Appraisal should begin with genuinely comparable objects rather than an artist-wide median. Medium, dimensions, date, subject, condition, restoration, signature, inscriptions, and edition information can all affect comparability. Provenance, exhibition history, catalogue references, and confidence in attribution also deserve scrutiny. A painting should be compared with similar paintings, while a lithograph or wood engraving should be assessed against examples from the same edition or closely related impressions when possible. Public results are reference points rather than price guarantees; reporting practices may differ, and private transactions, incomplete feeds, buyer premiums, or later attribution changes may not be fully reflected.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist-identity research with matched public auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. Private sales, incomplete feeds, and attribution changes may not be represented.

## Sources

- Bibliothèque nationale de France: https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb12391201z
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/24685053/
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q114405
- IdRef: https://www.idref.fr/033000271
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/3065
- National Gallery of Art: https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.4494.html
- British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG33659
- Art UK: https://artuk.org/discover/artists/kent-rockwell-18821971
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/rockwell-kent/