**early life and education** rockwell kent, an american painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, and adventurer, was born on june 21, 1882, in tarrytown, new york. of english descent, kent spent his early life in and around new york city, attending the horace mann school. he studied composition and design with arthur wesley dow at the art students league in 1900 and painting with william merritt chase from 1900 to 1902. **artistic career and inspiration** kent's early paintings of mount monadnock and new hampshire, first shown at the society of american artists in new york in 1904, m…