In the 1960s
William Kent's works were hailed by the
New York Times as
“Masterfully rendered and highly refined in technique, they smolder
with a timeless power.” Kent’s work was in the 1966
Whitney Biennial and
other museum exhibitions. He even invented an entirely new printing
medium. But this master sculptor, one of America’s greatest, was soon
overlooked and then forgotten. An irascible character, contemptuous of
the commercial art world, he disappeared from the New York scene. He
chose an ascetic path, living and working in a dairy barn nestled in the
rolling hills of Connecticut. A
New York Times critic once
called him “the world’s greatest living carver of wood; there’s not even
anyone close.” His huge and awe-inspiring carved wood sculptures have
been compared to those of Brancusi. And his paintings and monoprints
push far beyond those of Warhol.
A carved wooden bowl sculpture, 1950s. Signed on the bottom initials WK
inside a rectangle. This work appears in
his book.
William Kent Carvings A Record. Organized & printed by William Kent on The Philistine
Press, New Haven, Connecticut, 1960. By the artist WK. "These bowls
were not made to hold mixed salads, fruit, or assorted nuts; nor were
the large ones fashioned to be used as planters. They are interesting
shapes, and the small ones were designed to be hung on a wall and looked
at."
This amazing example of a forgotten master carvers work is 33 inches long.
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