Laura Knight : A Working Life

The drawings of the pioneering painter Laura Knight (1877–1970) in the collection of the Royal Academy confirm her exceptional gift for capturing life’s multiplicity and movement. Knight was the first female member to be elected to the Royal Academy of Arts and in 1965 the Academy’s major retrospective of her work recognized her importance in British art.

Drawing was a key part of Knight’s art, and allowed her to capture at speed her various subjects, which include travelers, circus performers, boxers, ballet dancers and ice skaters, and to portray the exuberant life of her models. It also proved a vital recording tool when she witnessed one of the most important events of the 20th century: the Nuremberg trials.

In this new publication, Annette Wickham and Helen Valentine present the Royal Academy’s holdings of her drawings with an in-depth analysis focused on three key subjects within her work: the nude, the working woman and country life.