Rockwell Kent ( 1882–1971) was born in Tarrytown, New York, and attended the Horace Mann School. He studied at the Art Students League and the Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art. From his 40s until his death, he lived and painted at his Adirondack farm, which he called Asgaard.

Kent primarily painted landscapes, capturing what he saw in the land around him, not only in New York, but also in Maine, Alaska, Greenland, and Tierra del Fuego.

Kent was a political activist and a socialist, which made him a target of McCarthyism. He was the president of the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship from the 1957 to 1971, and donated several hundred paintings to the Soviet people in 1960. He was also involved in helping the people of North and South Vietnam.