Janie Ralston in a Kilt 1924

Rockwell Kent made this ink drawing of Janie Ralston in a Kilt in 1924. Imagine Kent’s hand moving across the page, the nib of the pen scratching out the lines of Janie’s kilt. He has inscribed the artwork to Janie Ralston, who he describes as “the most delightful guest that the green mountains have seen.” There’s something so charming about the directness of his gesture, both as a gift and a note. I can imagine him, a big, burly guy, carefully working on this delicate drawing, thinking about the landscape and this woman, Janie, with affection. The drawing looks like he dashed it off, with his pen marks describing Janie’s elegant pose with her hands on her hips. But look closer, and you see his marks are incredibly precise, considered, and deliberate. Kent’s mark-making seems effortless and immediate, but it probably came from a lot of practice. Like all artists, he stands on the shoulders of giants, inspired by artists that came before him.