The simple phrase “Home is where the heart is” is embodied by many families upon creating and styling their abode. A person's home is the cornerstone of his or life, providing not just shelter but comfort and security. It is a place where family and friends should always feel welcome, containing bits and pieces of their lives. The renowned artist Rockwell Kent agreed with these thoughts, expressing them with a talent few knew he had—architecture.

Kent, who is known for his painting, writing, and illustrating, had studied architecture at Columbia University, but left to study painting full-time. His work in designing buildings really began only after he settled in the North Country. The Adirondack storyteller O. Byron Brewster had advised Kent and his second wife, Frances, to look on the other side of Spruce Hill for land on which to build a house, which is where they found 200 acres of property, located south of Au Sable Forks and above the AuSable River. The simple, old-fashioned house that Kent designed was not modeled after the typical Adirondack styles that were common for the time period. Instead, it was rather conservative with no wasted space, as Kent felt the modern architectural styles were not a natural fit for human lifestyles.

"He really believed that when you went inside you wanted to be warm and snug and have a wonderful place to entertain your friends."

Anne Mackinnon, a writer who grew up down the road from Kent and now guides a tour of his architecture, says that Kent had an admiration for New England-style architecture despite the prominence of the influence of modernists like Frank Lloyd Wright. “[Kent] was a great outdoorsman, a great sailor, he was an adventurer, and he worked his farm very actively, but he really believed that when you went inside you wanted to be warm and snug and have a wonderful place to entertain your friends,” says Mackinnon, whose parents were good friends of Kent's. “All of the houses are notable for their gracious entertaining spaces and all of them have places that are dedicated to books, and reading, and learning, which were tremendously important to him. He built into the houses places to display mementos of travels, and because he was a great traveler himself, his own house was full of things he'd brought back from the far corners of the world.”

Kent not only designed his own house and barn, but also put together the plans for summer houses for people who had been guests in his own home. On another occasion, he created a barber shop for his close friend, Neil Burgess, which can be found on the main street of AuSable Forks. While Kent's farm, Asgaard, has deteriorated somewhat over the years, its current owners have restored it privately. The rest of the houses are well-preserved, having been taken good care of by their stewards, who have sole responsibility for the properties. Mackinnon says since “the buildings are still doing the things Kent designed them to do, they blend in with the community as they always have.”

Mackinnon thinks it's unlikely that many people, aside from locals, are aware that Kent was an architect. “If people thought about it, they'd probably say 'Oh, he may have designed his own house and barn,' because people knew he was an active farmer,” she said. “They probably don't know he was a trained architect and that he took these commissions for friends of his and built these interesting and distinctive houses.”

Adirondack Architectural Heritage hosts a full day tour guided by Mackinnon that visits the building sites Kent designed. This year's tour is scheduled for Thursday, August 10, and is one of more than thirty events the organization does each year. It begins in Elizabethtown, where the Untermeyer house, which is now a bed and breakfast, and the Brewster house are viewed. The tour then moves to the barbershop in AuSable Forks before going to the Kent Farm to have lunch in a field. The last stop is at the Cowdin house, which was a summer home built for one of Kent's friends. The buildings are not open to the public on a daily basis, so taking the tour is the only way to gain access. “The owners of the houses have been unfailingly generous in their willingness to open their homes to guests, so we've been able to bring the tours through to see the houses pretty reliably,” said Mackinnon.

“It was very important to him to have a home to be sheltered in."

Kent, whose own original house inspired the otherbuildings he designed, incorporated his own artistic vision into his work. “It was very important to him to have a home to be sheltered in. He imagined lively conversations that were prompted by the art on the walls or the mementos on display or the books on the shelves,” Mackinnon says. “When you walk into the houses that he designed you can imagine how he thought people should live—which was very sociably and with lots of beautiful things around them.”

Were you aware that Rockwell Kent was an architect?

The Artist

Painting is the art form for which Rockwell Kent is most famous. He studied art at the Shinnecock Hills School before studying at the New York School, later becoming an apprentice to Abbott Thayer. It was in his apprenticeship that he developed an attachment to nature, which influenced the greater part of his work.

Kent's paintings are arguably best known for their symbolism. Much of his art deals with humanity, the struggle to reach reality, and discover the meaning of existence. Kent was one of the most celebrated printmakers of the 1990s, although his popularity was similar to a rollercoaster track. Many of his prints were misinterpreted and viewed in ways different than what Kent had intended, while others were praised extensively.

Adirondack Architectural Heritage

This nonprofit organization formed in 1990 with nearly one thousand people who are active in the region's culture, events, and preservation. The group works to promote the well-being of the Adirondack Park and its surrounding area, and involves the community in its programs and activities to increase awareness in Adirondack's greatness. The group also performs many services that include publishing a newsletter twice a year, holding workshops and conferences, supporting endangered property, and working with local public schools.

One of the main focuses is on landmark preservation. In the past, historical and architectural landmarks have been destroyed, and part of the group's program to save endangered property is by giving tours to showcase special places they feel should be saved. By educating people about the landmarks, they hope to encourage and gain support and resources needed to save them.