Dame Laura Knight was an English artist who worked in oils, watercolours, etching, engraving and dry point. Laura studied at Nottingham School of Art in 1900 where she met Harold Knight. After marrying in 1903, they joined an artist’s colony at Staithes, Yorkshire before moving in 1908 to Newlyn, Cornwall. In 1929 she was created a Dame and in 1936 she became the first woman elected to full membership of the Royal Academy. Her large retrospective exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1965 was the first for a woman. In her long career, Knight was among the most successful and popular painters in Britain. Her success in the male-dominated British art establishment paved the way for greater status and recognition for women artists. She was also greatly interested in, and inspired by, marginalised communities and individuals, including Romani people and circus performers.
Laura Knight
Dame Laura Knight was an English artist who worked in oils, watercolours, etching, engraving and dry point. Laura studied at Nottingham School of Art in 1900 where she met Harold Knight. After marrying in 1903, they joined an artist’s colony at Staithes, Yorkshire before moving in 1908 to Newlyn, Cornwall. In 1929 she was created a Dame and in 1936 she became the first woman elected to full membership of the Royal Academy. Her large retrospective exhibition at the Royal Academy in 1965 was the first for a woman. In her long career, Knight was among the most successful and popular painters in Britain. Her success in the male-dominated British art establishment paved the way for greater status and recognition for women artists. She was also greatly interested in, and inspired by, marginalised communities and individuals, including Romani people and circus performers.
