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1937 Harold and Laura Knight © National Portrait Gallery, London |
Harold Knight (1874 – 1961) was an English portrait, genre and landscape painter.Knight was born in Nottingham, England, the son of William Knight, architect, and studied at Nottingham School of Art under Wilson Foster. Nottingham had a reputation as among the best of the English provincial art schools and Knight won a series of prizes there, most notably for a series of oil studies of nudes. At the time he was considered to be the best student in the college. At the School of Art he met fellow artist Laura Johnson, whom he married in 1903. As Laura Knight, she became well known for her paintings of scenes from the ballet, circus and similar events.
After spending time in Paris, studying art under Jean-Paul Laurens and Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, then at Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast, Harold Knight moved in 1907, with Laura, to Newlyn, a fishing port in Cornwall, where they became part of the Newlyn School.
In the First World War Knight's principles led him to be a conscientious objector, which earned him the rebuke of many of his colleagues and former friends, and put a strain on his physical and mental health, as he was required to work as a farm labourer. When the War ended, he and Laura moved to London, although they frequently returned to Cornwall to paint.
Knight was elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1937, and died in 1961 in Colwall, Herefordshire.
This is part 2 of a 2-part post on Harold Knight:
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1939 Before A. H. Trow, DSc oil on canvas 101 x 76 cm Cardiff University, Wales, UK |
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1939-40 Edward Watt, MA, LLD, Lord Provost of Aberdeen oil on canvas 125 x 99.5 cm Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums, UK |
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1940c Portrait Sketch of Francesca Fummi oil on canvas 60.9 x 40.8 cm Royal Academy of Arts, London |
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1941 Sir William Henry Bragg oil on canvas 102 x 76 cm The Royal Society, London |
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c1942 George Horatio Nelson, 1st Baron Nelson of Stafford oil on canvas 102 x 72,2 cm National Portrait Gallery, London |
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c1943 S.C. Carpenter, Dean of Exeter oil on canvas 75 x 62.2 cm |
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c1943 Sir Ian MacAlister oil on canvas 91.7 x 76.2 cm RIBA Library Drawings and Archives Collections, London |
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1946 Lord Ilkeston oil on canvas 89 x 76 cm Warwick Shire Hall, UK |
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1948 Sir Gilfred Craig oil on canvas 74.9 x 60.9 cm Middlesex Guild Hall Collection, UK |
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c1950 Sir Barry Jackson oil on canvas 62 x 52 cm Birmingham Museums Tust, UK |
Note: Dates were not found for the remainder of works in this post:
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A View of Mousehole oil on canvas 48.5 x 44 cm Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance, UK |
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A Village Wedding oil on canvas 163.2 x 193.6 cm |
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Afternoon Tea oil on canvas 193 x 152 cm Private Collection |
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Alderman William Roberts, Lord Mayor of Cardiff oil on canvas 125.5 x 100 cm City Hall, Cardiff, Wales, UK |
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Boats by the Quayside Whitby watercolour 21 x 15 cm |
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Children at the Seaside, Newlyn watercolour 24.7 x 35 cm |
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Cottage Garden watercolour 35 x 30.5 cm |
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Fred Mayor oil on canvas 60.9 x 50.8 cm Private Collection |
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Gwen Ffrancon Davies oil on canvas National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK |
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Herring Boats coming out of the Beck oil on canvas 20 x 24 cm |
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In the Garden, Summer oil on canvas 62.2 x 61 cm |
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J. G. Lyon oil on canvas 126 x 101 cm Wakefield Town Hall, Wakefield District Civic Portraits, UK |
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Knitting oil on canvas 61 x 61 cm |
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Meditation oil on canvas 46 x 46 cm |
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Milking the Goat oil on canvas 50.8 x 45.7 cm Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds Museums and Galleries, UK |
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Miss Gladys on the Balcony oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm |
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Morning Sun oil on canvas 76.9 x 64.1 cm |
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On the Quay at Staithes watercolour 23 x 29 cm |
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Portrait of a Cornish Girl oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm |
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Portrait of a Gentleman oil on canvas 95.2 x 112 cm |
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Portrait of H. J. Mitchell oil on canvas 127 x 101.5 cm |
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Portrait of Laura Knight oil on canvas 50 x 39.5 cm |
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Portrait of Mrs. Johnson oil on canvas 50.8 x 40.6 cm |
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Portrait of William Kelway oil on canvas 104.8 x 83.8 cm |
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Reading at the Window oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm |
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Rough Sea at Whitby oil on canvas 38 x 48.5 cm |
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Scotch Boats on the North-East Coast oil on canvas 45 x 60 cm |
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Sir Gilfred Craig, DL, JP, Chairman of Middlesex County Council oil on canvas 74.9 x 61.6 cm The Supreme Court, Middlesex Guildhall Art Collection, UK |
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Sir Gordon Morgan Holmes, KT, CMG, CBE, MD, FRCP, FRS oil on canvas 73 x 60 cm National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, UCLH Arts, London |
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Sir Harry Vincent oil on canvas 102 x67.5 cm University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK |
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Spencer Cecil Carpenter, Dean of Exeter oil on canvas 75 x 62.2 cm Exeter Cathedral, UK |
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Stanley Barnes, MD, DSc, LLD, FRCP, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine oil on canvas 100.5 x 75 cm University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK |
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The Black Jacket oil on canvas 45.7 x 45.7 cm |
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The Brass Goddess oil on canvas 82 x 69 cm |
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The Chase oil on canvas 38.1 x 45.7 cm |
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The Girl and the Picture, Flower oil on canvas 153 x 128 cm |
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The Iranian Girl oil on canvas 35.5 x 31 cm |
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The Little Mother oil on canvas 76.2 x 91.4 cm |
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The Mantilla oil on board 45.7 x 40.6 cm Russell Cotes Art Gallery, Bournemouth, UK |
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W. H. Renwick oil on canvas 92 x 79.8 cm National Museum Wales, Cardiff, UK |
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W.H. Davies oil on canvas 100.4 x 86.3 cm Merthyr Tydfil Museum, Wales, UK |
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Whitesand Bay, Cornwall oil on canvas 63.5 x 76.2 cm |