Kate Peck Kent (1914 – October 28, 1987), born Kate Stott Peck, was an American anthropologist who studied the history of

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

and

Navajo The Navajo or Diné are an Indigenous people of the Southwestern United States. Their traditional language is Diné bizaad, a Southern Athabascan language. The states with the largest Diné populations are Arizona (140,263) and New Mexico (1 ...

textiles.

Early life and education

Kate Stott Peck was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1914, and raised in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, the daughter of Allen Steele Peck and Jessie Peck. Her father was an officer in the U. S. Forest Service. Peck earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

, and pursued graduate studies at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. She completed a master's degree at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

in 1949, with a thesis titled "An analysis and interpretation of the cotton textiles from Tonto National Monument." In retirement, she continued her studies at the

School of American Research The School for Advanced Research (SAR), until 2007 known as the School of American Research and founded in 1907 as the School for American Archaeology (SAA), is an advanced research center located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. Since ...

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

Career

In the late 1930s, Kent was assistant to curator

Frederic Huntington Douglas Frederic Huntington Douglas (October 29, 1897, in Evergreen, Colorado – April 23, 1956) also known as Eric Douglas. "was one of the first scholars to recognize the artistic achievements of American Indians as well as the arts of Africa and Ocea ...

at the

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With an encyclopedic collection of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums betwe ...

. She taught anthropology at

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

and the University of Denver, and was senior research associate at the

Museum of International Folk Art The Museum of International Folk Art is a state-run institution in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. It is one of many cultural institutions operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. History The museum was founded by Flor ...

. After she retired from the University of Denver in 1976, she was an adjunct professor at the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

. She also served as an officer of the Southwestern Association of Indian Affairs. She wrote a short book, ''The Story of Navajo Weaving'' (1961), for the

Heard Museum The Heard Museum is a private, not-for-profit museum in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, dedicated to the advancement of American Indian art. It presents the stories of American Indian people from a first-person perspective, as well as exhibitio ...

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

. Kent's later books were ''Prehistoric Textiles of the Southwest'' (1983), ''Pueblo Indian Textiles: A Living Traditions'' (1983), and ''Navajo Weaving: Three Centuries of Change'' (1985). "I'll bet there's not one archaeologist who's read my books," she said in a 1987 interview. "But weavers ''love'' my books. They are my most loyal supporters. I've talked to a lot of weavers' guilds and given workshops prehistoric techniques. Weavers love to experiment." Hopi weaver Ramona Sakiestewa was inspired by Kent's work to explore historical techniques for her Ancient Blanket Series. She wrote an introduction to H. P. Mera's rediscovered ''Spanish American Blanketry'' (1984). She contributed an essay on Southwestern weaving to ''I Am Here'' (1989), a book published to mark the opening of the

Museum of Indian Arts and Culture The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture is a museum of Native American art and culture located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It is one of eight museums in the state operated by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and is accredited by the Ame ...

in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Personal life and legacy

In 1937, Kate Peck married educator Arthur Tufnell Sabine Kent. They had three children, Hilary, Stephen, and Jonathan. Kate Peck Kent died in 1987, aged 73 years, at her home in El Rito, New Mexico. In 1988, the

Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian is a museum devoted to Native American arts. It is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and was founded in 1937 by Mary Cabot Wheelwright, who came from Boston, and Hastiin Klah, a Navajo singer and medi ...

held a memorial exhibit, "Living Traditions: Kate Peck Kent and the Study of Historic Pueblo Textiles". Her papers and library were donated to the Wheelwright Museum after her death.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Kate Peck 1914 births 1987 deaths American women anthropologists University of Denver faculty University of Denver alumni People from Washington, D.C. University of Arizona alumni 20th-century American anthropologists 20th-century American people 20th-century American women academics