Rockwell Kent, born in 1882 in Tarrytown, New York, was an artist and author who first came to prominence in the early twentieth century as a painter. Drawing inspiration from the austere power and beauty found in nature, Kent once wrote, " I don't want petty self-expression. I want the elemental, infinite thing; I want to paint the rhythm of eternity." Kent's stark black-and-white illustrations for the 1930 Lakeside Press edition of Moby-Dick became his most famous work, reigniting an interest in the novel. Kent died of a heart attack in 1971. Herman Melville was born in 1819 in New York City, the grandson of two Revolutionary War heroes. He began his career as an author in 1845 with the publication of the novel Typee, which recounted and fictionalized some of his adventures over three and a half years at sea on whaling and naval ships in the South Pacific. The book's success enabled Melville to write four more novels, including Omoo (1847) before publishing his magnum opus, Moby-Dick, in 1851. Met with an indifferent response, the book and author fell into obscurity until decades after the author passed away in 1891.