View of the Week

Rockwell Kent House

Photograph by Instagram's wgrnstn

Rockwell Kent’s Cottage

View of the Week

An architectural historian stops to admire Rockwell Kent’s former cottage and studio on Monhegan.

During a trip to Monhegan last summer, I was up before dawn to explore the island’s trails. Though I grew up on another Maine island — Mount Desert — I was completely entranced by the remote beauty of Monhegan. As I walked to see the remains of the D.T. Sheridan (a shipwreck on the southern end of the island), I couldn’t help but notice the former Kent cottage perched on the ledge nearby. As an architectural historian, I focus on the relationship between architecture and the environment, particularly in the decades surrounding the turn of the 20th century, and this house seemed so well attuned to its site. I was struck by how Kent’s design responded to the rugged shoreline in front of the house and how the evergreens have been preserved nearby, keeping that distinctly Maine balance between rocky coast and wooded forest.Willie

 

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In 1907, the great American painter #RockwellKent moved into his new cottage overlooking #LobsterCove on #Monhegan. Kent, who trained as an architect at Columbia, designed this, and several other houses on Monhegan, and I have to say that it almost knocked me off my feet this morning, around 6:05, when I looked up – and there it was. The house just seems so right, and looks so good. . . Monhegan is spectacular, bordering on surreal. And it goes without saying that the island’s natural beauty still inspires the artists of our generation. Today #JamieWyeth owns this house, and frequently incorporates the nearby scenery in his paintings. . . . #MaineIsland #mainetheway #mainecottage #maine #sunrise #mainesunrise #monheganisland

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