"Sermilik Fjord"

Kent, Rockwell

Kent, Rockwell (illus.)

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(1931). Measuring 19 1/2 by 14 1/2 inches in a 31 1/4 by 26-inch frame, this lithograph is a unique signed proof printed in three colors. Whereas the original edition of 150 proofs featured a blue tint printed from stone and a reddish brown tint printed from a zinc plate, this proof displays these hues along with a greenish tint. Burne Jones mentions "trial proofs of all the colors done separately" formerly in the collections of Kent and George Miller; however, he does not describe a proof printed in three colors. Later, the stone from which the key drawing and blue tones were printed was "canceled and reground for subsequent reuse by George Miller." Additionally, "the zinc plate was destroyed." The lithograph depicts a camping scene along the shores of Sermilik Fjord on the east coast of Greenland. Kent lived in Greenland sporadically between 1929 and 1935. Based on his time there and the people he met, he wrote two of his greatest books: Greenland Journal and Salamina. The proof is matted and preserved in a lovely wooden frame with a scalloped design. This is a very rare and wonderful piece of art by one of twentieth-century America's greatest illustrators. (Item ID: 22012)

(Burne Jones #67)