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ALBANY, NY – In conjunction with the Rockwell Kent: This is My Own exhibition, the New York State Museum will present the film “Rockwell Kent,” a biographical documentary, on Sunday, May 17.

The three-hour showing is free and will be held from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Huxley Theater. Filmmaker Frederick Lewis spent over 10 years and thousands of his own money to make the film about Kent, a painter, author, illustrator, adventurer and social activist, who was one of America’s most famous personalities during the 1930s and 1940s.

Lewis not only researched and cataloged hundreds of documents, photographs and letters, but he also traced Kent’s footsteps across the world, following Kent in his many travels, to show how Kent’s experiences inspired his work. Lewis traveled to Greenland, Denmark, Alaska, Russia and Tierra del Fuego, off the tip of the South American mainland, where he rented a sailboat and hired a crew in order to charter the same routes that Kent had taken. Never having sailed before, Kent was unaware that the waters he had chosen are some of the most dangerous in the world. However, he returned with what he considers some of the most amazing footage in the film.

The film shows the human story of Kent in intricate detail, featuring interviews with people who knew him and are now deceased. For those who feel they are already knowledgeable about Kent, the film provides much additional information that was previously unknown, uncovered through in-depth research. For additional information about Kent and his filmmaking adventures visit http://www.tcomschool.ohiou.edu/faculty/lewis.html.

The Museum’s June 27 Creative Art Day program also will focus on Rockwell Kent. The free program invites families to participate in artful activities based on the Kent exhibition. For information on the featured art project call 518-473-7154 or e-mail psteinba@mail.nysed.gov.

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Rockwell Kent: This is My Own is the latest exhibition in the Bank of America’s Great Art Series, and is open until July 5 in the Museum’s West Gallery. The exhibition is the 20th installment of the Bank of America Great Art Exhibition and Education Program, which brings works from New York State’s leading art museums and collections to the State Museum. The exhibition features works from the collection of the Plattsburgh State Art Museum, State University of New York at Plattsburgh, the most complete and balanced collection of Kent’s work in the United States. The collection was established by a gift and bequest from Kent’s wife, Sally Kent Gorton. This exhibition is curated by Cecilia M. Esposito, director of the Plattsburgh State Art Museum.

A critically acclaimed artist who provided the illustrations for such classics as “Moby Dick” and the “Canterbury Tales,” Kent succeeded in multiple endeavors during his lifetime. He was a painter, muralist, illustrator, printmaker, book designer, graphic artist, architect, builder, writer and editor, lecturer, navigator, world traveler and political and social activist.

Kent once said that “art is no more than the shadow cast by a man’s own stature.” This exhibition is unique in the breadth of materials on display, including hundreds of items that chronicle Kent’s life and work, reflecting remarkable personal experiences and a deep sense of moral and political principle. On display are paintings, drawings, prints, books, bookplates, photographs, dinnerware, advertising art and

more.

A DVD of the “Rockwell Kent” film, and the book, “Rockwell Kent: The Art of the Bookplate,” are for sale in the Museum Shop.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department’s Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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