Winifred Knights
Encyclopedia
Winifred Margaret Knights (1899–1947) was a British
Painter
. Amongst her most notable works are The Marriage at Cana produced for the British School at Rome, which is now in the National Art Gallery of New Zealand in Wellington
and her winning Rome Scholarship entry The Deluge which is now held by Tate Britain
. Knights’ style was much influenced by the Italian Primitives and she was one of several British artists who participated in a revival of religious imagery in the 1920s, while retaining some elements of a modern style.
from 1915–17 and again from 1918-20. Her teachers included Henry Tonks
and Fred Brown. In 1919 she won the Slade Summer Composition Prize for Mill Hands on Strike. The following year she won the Rome Scholarship for her work The Deluge. In 1920 she became engaged to fellow student Arnold Mason and moved to Italy to complete her scholarship, living at Anticoli Corrado
, a small village to the south of Rome
. She remained in Rome from 1920 to 1925. The relationship with Mason broke up and she married fellow Rome Scholar Thomas Monnington on April 23, 1924.
Knights returned to the Slade in the years 1926-27 and exhibited at both the Imperial Gallery in Kensington and the Duveen Gallery. In the period 1928-33 Knights executed the mural St Michael Dividing his Cloak for the Milner Memorial Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral
. In 1929 Knights was elected to the New English Art Club
, but never exhibited with them. In 1933 Stephen Courtauld
and his wife Virginia bought Eltham Palace
. They commissioned Knights and Monnington who collaborated with the Swedish interior designer Rolf Engströmer and the Italian decorator Peter Malacrida on the decoration of the interiors of the building. Knights died in London in 1947 at the age of 48.
, John Singer Sargent
, Philip Wilson Steer
, and David Young Cameron
. Her version of the deluge went through several versions, including a foreground scene of Noah and his family loading the animals onto the Ark. However as time ran out she was forced to simplify her composition with people fleeing the rising waters and escaping to higher ground, Noah’s Ark can be seen in the distance to the right. Knight's mother modelled for the central figure carrying a baby and her then partner Arnold Mason modelled the male figure beside her and the man scrambling up the hill. Knights portrayed herself as the figure to the centre right of the foreground. The Flood water was modelled on Clapham Common.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Painter
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
. Amongst her most notable works are The Marriage at Cana produced for the British School at Rome, which is now in the National Art Gallery of New Zealand in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and her winning Rome Scholarship entry The Deluge which is now held by Tate Britain
Tate Britain
Tate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
. Knights’ style was much influenced by the Italian Primitives and she was one of several British artists who participated in a revival of religious imagery in the 1920s, while retaining some elements of a modern style.
Personal life and career
Born in London in 1899, Knights studied at the Slade School of Fine ArtSlade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
from 1915–17 and again from 1918-20. Her teachers included Henry Tonks
Henry Tonks
Henry Tonks, FRCS was a British draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist...
and Fred Brown. In 1919 she won the Slade Summer Composition Prize for Mill Hands on Strike. The following year she won the Rome Scholarship for her work The Deluge. In 1920 she became engaged to fellow student Arnold Mason and moved to Italy to complete her scholarship, living at Anticoli Corrado
Anticoli Corrado
Anticoli Corrado is a comune in the Province of Rome in the Italian region Latium, located about 40 km northeast of Rome...
, a small village to the south of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. She remained in Rome from 1920 to 1925. The relationship with Mason broke up and she married fellow Rome Scholar Thomas Monnington on April 23, 1924.
Knights returned to the Slade in the years 1926-27 and exhibited at both the Imperial Gallery in Kensington and the Duveen Gallery. In the period 1928-33 Knights executed the mural St Michael Dividing his Cloak for the Milner Memorial Chapel at Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
. In 1929 Knights was elected to the New English Art Club
New English Art Club
The New English Art Club was founded in London in 1885 as an alternate venue to the Royal Academy.-History:Young English artists returning from studying art in Paris mounted the first exhibition of the New English Art Club in April 1886...
, but never exhibited with them. In 1933 Stephen Courtauld
Stephen Courtauld
Sir Stephen Lewis Courtauld, MC was a member of the wealthy English Courtauld textile family...
and his wife Virginia bought Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace is a large house in Eltham, within the London Borough of Greenwich, South East London, England. It is an unoccupied royal residence and owned by the Crown Estate. In 1995 its management was handed over to English Heritage which restored the building in 1999 and opened it to the public...
. They commissioned Knights and Monnington who collaborated with the Swedish interior designer Rolf Engströmer and the Italian decorator Peter Malacrida on the decoration of the interiors of the building. Knights died in London in 1947 at the age of 48.
The Deluge
To compete for the Rome Scholarship students were asked to paint a scene of The Deluge, in oil or tempera, 6 X 5 feet, which had to be completed in a period of eight weeks (commencing 5 July). The panel of ten judges included George ClausenGeorge Clausen
Sir George Clausen RA , was an artist working in oil and watercolour, etching, mezzotint, dry point and occasionally lithographs. He was knighted in 1927.-Biography:...
, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
, Philip Wilson Steer
Philip Wilson Steer
Philip Wilson Steer OM was a British painter of landscape and occasional portraits and figure studies. He was a leading figure in the Impressionist movement in Britain.-Life and work:...
, and David Young Cameron
David Young Cameron
Sir David Young Cameron was a Scottish painter and etcher.-Biography:Cameron was the son of the Rev. Robert Cameron and was born in Glasgow, Scotland. From around 1881 he studied at the Glasgow School of Art and in 1885 enrolled at the Edinburgh Schools of Art...
. Her version of the deluge went through several versions, including a foreground scene of Noah and his family loading the animals onto the Ark. However as time ran out she was forced to simplify her composition with people fleeing the rising waters and escaping to higher ground, Noah’s Ark can be seen in the distance to the right. Knight's mother modelled for the central figure carrying a baby and her then partner Arnold Mason modelled the male figure beside her and the man scrambling up the hill. Knights portrayed herself as the figure to the centre right of the foreground. The Flood water was modelled on Clapham Common.