Laura Knight

Book excerpt: Laura Knight (1877-1970) was one of the most distinguished women artists of the early 20th century with an international reputation. This much-anticipated biography appears at a time of renewed interest in Dame Laura's extensive repertoire. Laura Knight: A Life probes beneath the myths and fictions that have and continue to be woven around the artist. This highly readable and objective biography covers her early years in Nottingham; relationship with her husband Harold; life in the artists colonies of Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast, Laren in Holland and Newlyn in Cornwall; Laura's subsequent immersion in the worlds of the ballet, the circus, the theatre and her travels in Europe and America; her work as a designer of theatrical costume, posters and ceramics; and her role as Official War Artist during World War 11 and recorder of the Nuremberg Trials in 1945-46. The author does more than merely draw the solid lines of Dame Laura's professional and public identity for the reader, she fills in the background, expresses the light and colour of Laura Knight's vibrant personality and, by also exploring the darker shades of her character, gives this portrait of the artist depth and perspective. If you read just one biography of Laura Knight it should be this one.