Knight, Laura, Dame, 1877 - 1970
Dates
- Existence: 1877 - 1970
Biography
Dame Laura Knight, is the most celebrated British impressionist female artist of all time and the first woman to ever be elected to the Royal Academy. 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 interested in marginalised communities and individuals and found great inspiration in circus performers. In the early 1920s Knight visited the Bertram Mills Circus, where she painted some of its performers. Throughout 1929 and 1930 Knight went on tour with the combined Bertram Mills and Great Carmo's Circus, painting the performers.
In 1929 Knight was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and in June 1931 she received an honorary degree from St. Andrews University. Knight was elected President of the Society of Women Artists in 1932, post which she held until 1967.
Found in 12 Collections and/or Records:
Circus Friends Association Collection
This collection consists of a large library of books and journals, as well as archival material including posters, programmes, photographs, films, handbills, research material, scrapbooks, original artwork and many other items of ephemera relating to British, Irish and European circuses
Circus Photographs, 1910 - 1964
Dame Laura Knight Related Material, 1965-1970
Dame Laura Knight exhibition catalogues for the Royal Academy, Aquascutum and the Upper Grosvenor Galleries.
Dame Laura Knight's Obituary and Funeral Material, 1970
Items related to Dame Laura Knight's death including a newspaper obituary, a note to a Mr Saunders regarding the memorial service and a memorial and thanksgiving service card for Dame Laura Knight. Typescript.
Newspaper Cutting Related to Dame Laura Knight, 1960 - 1970
Newspaper cuttings related to Dame Laura Knight, including advertisement for an exhibition.
Newspaper Cuttings and Scapbooks, 1838 - 2007
A collection of newspaper cuttings on circus, circus proprietors and performers and scrapbooks containing newspaper cuttings, posters, programmes and other items of ephemera, covering mainly British circuses and venues such as Belle Vue and also some international circuses.
Newspaper Cuttings on The Great Carmo Circus, 1926 - 1966
Newspaper cuttings, including an article by Dame Laura Knight, pages from a scrapbook, photocopies of articles and two issus of Abra Cadabra magic journal.
O'Beirne Collection
Amateur Super8 cine reels filmed by Thomas O’Beirne, black and white and colour photographs and slides, circus and theatre posters, a watercolour and a small amount of other ephemera.
Obituaries and Funeral Cards, 1911 - 2019
Obituaries and funeral cards for George Sanger, Dame Laura Knight, Billy Merchant and Carmen Rosaire among others.
Original Artwork, c1800 - 2000
Original works of art including artists' prints, drawings, watercolours and paintings, and designs for circus posters.
Photographs and Postcards, c1800 - 1999
Black and white and colour photographs, negatives and photographic albums mainly containing images of British circus, circus performers, animals and circus personalities but also some menageries such as Bostock and Wombwell and other associated entertainments and non-British circuses taken by David Jamieson, Lindsay Temple, Den Curtis, Capt. Middleton, Jack Niblett and other photographers.
The Acrobats Print, c1920 - 1939
Drypoint on paper by Dame Laura Knight. Black and white illustration of two circus acrobats performing in mid-air on the trapeze inside a circus tent on top section, fairground rides and stalls on the background and the audience on the bottom section.
Additional filters:
- Type
- Archival Object 10
- Collection 2
- Subject
- Acrobats 3
- Aerialists 4
- Animal trainers 4
- Animals 5
- Art 3
- Boxing 2
- Circus workers 1
- Clowning 6
- Comedians 1
- Contortionists 1
- Dance 1
- Diving 1
- Dwarfs (Persons) 1
- Equestrians 3
- Escape artists 1
- Fairs 3
- Fakirs 2
- Family 1
- Fire eating 1
- Freak shows 2
- Gymnasts 1
- Human cannonball 1
- Jugglers 2
- Knife throwing 1
- Magic 1
- Menageries 4
- Minstrel shows 1
- Motion pictures 1
- Music 1
- Music-halls 1
- Musical performances 1
- Musicians 1
- Pantomime 2
- Performers 8
- Ringmaster 2
- Showman 4
- Showwoman 3
- Sideshows 1
- Singing 1
- Skating 2
- Strong men 1
- Transport 3
- Variety 2
- Ventriloquists 1
- Wall of death 1
- War 2
- Wild west 2
- World War, 1939-1945 2
- Wrestling 1
- Zoos 1 + ∧ less