English painter and designer. She studied at Nottingham College of Art from 1889. In 1894 the deaths of her mother and grandmother left her dependent on her own earnings, and she taught art from a studio in the Castle Rooms, Nottingham. From 1903 she exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, London, and in the same year married the painter Harold Knight (1874–1961); they lived in an artists' community in Staithes, north Yorkshire, until 1907, also spending time in another community in Laren, Netherlands. They then moved to Newlyn, Cornwall, attracted by the presence of a number of prominent artists. The couple exhibited together at the Leicester Galleries, London, in 1912. Although Knight painted various subjects, her reputation was founded on paintings of the ballet and the circus, which became predominant after she moved to London. Technically of a high standard, her narrative realist works were painted in bright colours and have limited depth of expression (e.g. Ballet, 1936; Port Sunlight, Lady Lever A.G.). She painted backstage during the Diaghilev ballet's seasons in London and took lessons at Tillers Dancing Academy in St Martin's Lane in order to draw there; she also travelled with the Mills and Carmos Circus. In the 1930s she started painting horses and gypsies at the races, as in Gypsy (1938–9; London, Tate). An accomplished portrait painter, she painted wartime commissions and was the official artist at the Nuremberg War-crime Trials. She also did etchings (e.g. Some Holiday, aquatint 1925; see Fox, p. 60) and executed designs for stained-glass windows
Dame Laura Knight was a leading artist in the first half of the twentieth century. She also became the first woman artist to be elected into the Royal Academy since the first female members Angelica Kauffmann and Mary Moser. During her lifetime, she was praised for her lively scenes of the circus and the baler but she now receives more praise for her landscapes. Knight served as an Official War Artist during World War II and she also traveled to Nuremberg in 1946 to record the War Criminals’ Trial.
Laura Johnson was born in Long Eaton in 1877. She studied art in Nottingham and while there married the portrait painter, Harold Knight (1874-1961). Knight produced a long series of oil paintings of the ballet, the circus and gipsy life. Knight established herself as the most important woman artist in Britain and in 1936 became the first woman to be elected to the Royal Academy since 1760. During the Second World War Knight became an official war artist and was sent to cover the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. In later life she concentrated on watercolour landscapes. Laura Knight died in 1970.
Dame Laura Knight was a leading artist in the first half of the twentieth century. She also became the first woman artist to be elected into the Royal Academy since the first female members Angelica Kauffmann and Mary Moser. During her lifetime, she was praised for her lively scenes of the circus and the baler but she now receives more praise for her landscapes. Knight served as an Official War Artist during World War II and she also traveled to Nuremberg in 1946 to record the War Criminals’ Trial.
Laura Johnson was born in Long Eaton in 1877. She studied art in Nottingham and while there married the portrait painter, Harold Knight (1874-1961). Knight produced a long series of oil paintings of the ballet, the circus and gipsy life. Knight established herself as the most important woman artist in Britain and in 1936 became the first woman to be elected to the Royal Academy since 1760. During the Second World War Knight became an official war artist and was sent to cover the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. In later life she concentrated on watercolour landscapes. Laura Knight died in 1970.
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