Dame Laura Knight Enter a
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Choose a mood and the room itself answers — the light cools or warms, the air changes pace, and only the works that carry that feeling step forward from the dark. Everything else recedes into shadow.
Dame Laura Knight
Early Life and Education Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) was born Laura Johnson on August 4, 1877, in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, England, the youngest of three daughters. Her father, Charles Johnson, abandoned the family shortly after her birth, leaving her mother, Charlotte Johnson, to raise them amidst financial hardship. Knight's grandfather owned a lace-making factory that went bankrupt due to technological advancements, impacting
the family’s stability. In 1889, she was sent to northern France with relatives involved in the lace-making business but had to return after their bankruptcy. She began her art education as an 'artisan student' at Nottingham School of Art at just 13 years old, thanks to her mother’s efforts. At fifteen, Knight took over her mother's teaching duties when Charlotte became seriously ill with cancer. She won a scholarship and the…