Kinstler, whose 1,300 works include the official White House portraits of Presidents Kennedy and Ford and portraits of celebrities such as John Wayne, Tony Bennett and Katharine Hepburn, began his career as a teenage cartoonist. He is the artist behind such Golden Age Cartoons as "The Shadow and Zorro."
During Tuesday's discussion, moderated by studio art professor Louise Hamlin, Kinstler shared anecdotes behind his art with a predominantly older audience. Event-goers included Harle Montgomery, who co-founded the Montgomery Endowment with her late husband Kenneth Montgomery '25, and Lucretia Martin, special assistant to the 13th president of the College, John Kemeny. Both women are subjects of Kinstler portraits.
As Hamlin attempted to present the crowd selected slides of Kinstler's sketches, cartoons, portraits, and landscapes, the artist often interjected to recount funny memories or elaborate on a subject's personality.
When Hamlin displayed the portrait of a nude bespectacled woman, Kinstler interrupted, "Someone once asked me why she was wearing glasses. I said, 'It was because she wanted to watch every move I made!"
"I'm sure the feeling was mutual," Hamlin responded.
Prompted by questions from Hamlin, Kinstler elaborated on his artistic techniques, stressing that feeling and the ability to communicate are more important than capturing an exact likeness in portraiture.
"[Exactitude] is boring," Kinstler said. "You have to leave something unsaid."
Kinstler also emphasized the importance of studying a subject prior to painting. He added that he never guided his subjects in their poses, preferring to capture their character by portraying them in their natural stances.
He shared his experience painting famed film cowboy John Wayne, who always stood with his hands on his hips, to illustrate his point.
Kinstler likened his work as an artist to that of an actor who subjects himself to criticism.
"I said to [Katharine] Hepburn once, 'Did you ever get a role in a play that you didn't relate to?' And she looked at me and I said, 'What did you do?' And she said, 'You do the best you can, and you get on with it,'" Kinstler recalled. "So that has been my attitude, but I also want my fellow artists to look at my work and say, 'Hey, that's a good painting.'"
Kinstler was selected by the Montgomery Fellow committee because of his connection to the Montgomerys, Susan Wright, executive director of the Montgomery Endowment, told The Dartmouth. Kinstler painted two portraits of the Montgomerys, both of which hang in the Montgomery House on Rope Ferry Road.
"He was very highly regarded by the late Mr. Montgomery and his wife Harle," Wright said, referring to Kinstler. "Since we're celebrating their gift to the College on this 30th anniversary, we thought that Kinstler would be an appropriate choice because of their longstanding relationship."
During Kinstler's one-day visit to the College, he also met with students and faculty over lunch at the Montgomery House and took a walking tour to view the five Dartmouth-owned Kinstler portraits, which are displayed throughout the campus. The works include portraits of the Montgomerys, Martin, Kemeny, and Theodor Seuss Geisel '25. Their creation dates range from 1977 to 2001 and they hang in Rauner Library, Baker Library's Dr. Seuss room, and the dining room of the Montgomery House, according to Barbara MacAdam, curator of American Art at the Hood Museum. Kinstler has not seen many of the paintings for 30 years, Wright said.
"It's going to be a real reunion," Wright told The Dartmouth.
A reception in Moore Hall followed the discussion.
Reflecting on the talk, Montgomery expressed nostalgia.
"It's just unbelievable that 30 years have gone so fast. It's hard to realize that it's been that long," Montgomery said. "I can remember when my husband and I were planning and dreaming about [the Montgomery program]."
Incidentally, Montgomery said, Tuesday's 30th-anniversary event marked another special occasion -- the late Kenneth Montgomery's birthday.
