ART HISTORY
almost-Impressionist painting of two
women on the seafront. There are
elements of careful detail – the
orange folds of material in the
woman’s coat, the velvety ripples of
the sea – while others appear wired
and frantic, as though she attacked
the canvas with a marker.
Beautiful as such scenes can be,
Dame Laura was at her best when
immersed in the observation of
people at work, including herself.
In her Self Portrait from the National
Portrait Gallery collection, she puts
the practice she was denied as a
student at the very centre of her
painting. It strikes a tone that is
defiant rather than voyeuristic – both
women are here to do a job, and to do
it masterfully. It is thought to be the
first time a woman depicted herself
painting a nude model. It was rejected
by the Royal Academy of Arts in 1912
and dubbed “vulgar” by The Daily
Telegraph. “She was outrageous to
some people,” says Dr Morden.
Yet Dame Laura remained a
respected figure. In 1936, she became
the first woman to be elected to the
Royal Academy of Arts since Mary
Moser and Angelica Kauffman helped
foundtheinstitutionin 1768.Shealso
wrotenotonebuttwoautobiographies,
1936’sOilandGreasepaintand
1965’sTheMagicofa Line, thelatter
publishedwhenshewas 88 yearsold.
Strangely,neithermentionsany
particularartisticinfluence,nordoes
shediscussanyotherwomenartists.
“Shekeepsthingstoherself,as
thoughshewereanoriginal,”says
DrMorden.“Shewasjustfullofher
ownimportanceasanartist,she
wouldn’treallytakecriticism.”
WhereDameLauradidelevate
womenwasinherpaintings,showing
themtobeprofessionalsubjectswith
theirownsenseofpurpose.Whenshe
travelledtoBaltimorewithHarold,she
beganpaintingtheAfricanAmerican
womenwhoworkedasnursesin Johns
HopkinsHospital,whichwasstill
segregatedunderracistJimCrowlaws.
Shecentredthesewomenduringa
periodwhenblacksitterswerenot
commonlyseenintheworksofwhite
artists,thoughsomeofhertitles
retaintheera’soffensiveterminology.
Inthe1930s,shebecame
occupiedwithpaintingballerinas
suchasAnnaPavlova,andputthegraftoftheirartistryatthecentre
ofthework;dressmakersappeared
alongsidethedancers,withneither
givena higherstatusthantheother.
“Shesawtheperson,the
musculatureofthedancer,whetherit
wasmaleorfemale,”saysDrMorden,
“itwasn’tjustprettyballetfrocks.”
DameLauraalwaysseemedtobe
chasinga senseofcommunity,
somethingthatradiatesfromher
phantasmagoricalcircusscenes.
InOilandGreasepaint, theartist
describedthecircusasbeinglikea
village,“withallthevillagegossip”that
camewithit:“I wasasmucha partof
thecircusasanyonein theshow,used
toputtingupwithanything,living
solelyinitsatmosphere,protected
fromanyoutsideintrusion,cutoff
fromoutsideassociation.I lovedit for
theuninterruptedchanceofpainting
whatI mostwantedto.”
Herresistancetosticktoonestyle
turnedherbodyofworkintoitsown
travellingcircus.Whenevershegrew
boredofa genre,orwaspresented
withanopportunitytoexplore
another,shejustreadiedthewagonandmovedon.Thoughshehad
considerablefameinherlifetime,
shefelloutoffashionasabstraction
overtookrealismintheartschools
andgalleriesofthe1960sand’70s.
Nevertheless,exhibitionsdedicated
toherpleinairwork,herCornish
landscapesandherportraitshave
takenplaceinrecentyears.
Withcelebrationstomarkthe50th
anniversaryofherdeathin 1970 put
onholdlastyear,PenleeHousewill
soonstagea fullLauraKnight
retrospective,whichwillprobablyfeel
morelikea groupshow.AstheDame
herselfputit:“I canturnandtwist
throughanycrowdnomatterhow
theytrytocatchme.”
KatieMcCabe’sbook,MoreThanA
Muse, is publishedbyHardieGrant.
http://www.hardiegrant.com
DrBarbaraC Morden’sbook,Laura
Knight:A Life, willbepublishedin
paperbackbyMcNidder& Graceon
18 March.www.mcnidderandgrace.com
LauraKnight:A Celebrationrunsfrom
21 Aprilto 11 SeptemberatPenlee
HouseGalleryandMuseum,Penzance,
Cornwall.www.penleehouse.org.ukABOVE Ruby Loftus
Screwing a Breech
Ring, 1943, oil on
canvas, 86x102cmOPPOSITE PAGE
Laura Knight
with model, Ella
Louise Naper (‘Self
Portrait’), 1913
oil on canvas,
© IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUMS, IWM ART LD 2850. REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION OF THE ESTATE OF DAME LAURA KNIGHT DBE RA 2021 152x128cm