KENT ROCKWELL Pen and ink drawing for Casanovas Memoirs

Sale 2195 - Lot 162

Price Realized: $ 1,680

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

KENT, ROCKWELL. Pen and ink drawing for "Casanova's Memoirs." Striking pen-and-ink drawing, with wash, on thin card stock. Approximately 238x210mm; 9 1/2 x8 1/4x inches inches, few tears and light soiling, printer's blue pencil notes in margins; tipped to mat board. Not signed. Np, circa 1932

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Additional Details

An early design prepared, but ultimately rejected, for the 2-volume abridged edition of Casanova published by A. & C. Boni, New York, 1932 with an introduction by Arthur Machen. Most likely either a dust jacket or prospectus cover design. An excellent example of Kent's stark signature style, created at the height of his career; during this time he produced illustrations for Moby-Dick, The Canterbury Tales, N by E, Beowulf, Salamina, and The Complete Works of Shakespeare. One can speculate that the imagery here, six female nudes in various poses of desire and despair, was perhaps a bit too risqué. The drawing is in a near fully executed state, with all text but that intended to occupy a large open box in the center of the image (outlined in black and red rules).