Press Release Monday 29 March 2021

ENGLAND’S TRAILBLAZING WOMAN ARTIST REDISCOVERED IN MAJOR EXHIBITION

- Laura Knight, A Panoramic View opens 9 October 2021 at MK Gallery in Milton Keynes

- First in a year-long programme of solo-exhibitions by female artists, including Ingrid Pollard and Vivian Maier

Dame Laura Knight, A Dressing Room at Drury Lane (c.1952), Lubov Tchernicheva (1921), Assistant Section Leader E. Henderson, MM, and Sergeant H. Turner, MM, Women's Auxiliary Air Service (1941) © Reproduced with permission of The Estate of Dame Laura Knight DBE RA

Laura Knight, one of the most popular English artists of the 20th century and first woman to be elected to the Royal Academy, will be celebrated with a major exhibition at MK Gallery from 9 October 2021 – 20 February 2022, the most significant presentation of her work in over 50 years.

Laura Knight (1877-1970) was in her lifetime one of England’s most prolific artists, a pioneering painter of women, war, and marginalised people with a long and successful career that saw her travel the world and break conventions. Her range of subjects, command of multiple techniques and extraordinary virtuosity combined to make her the first woman modern art star.

The exhibition at MK Gallery will survey Knight’s career spanning almost a century – from her fascination with the backstage world of ballet and theatre and exuberant portraits of people’s everyday lives, to depictions of marginalised communities and racial segregation in America. It will also feature powerful commissions created as an official during the Second World War.

She stormed the traditional male enclave of the Royal Academy, becoming the first woman elected to full membership in 1936, and was the first female artist to be appointed Dame of the British Empire. In her 1965 autobiography The Magic of a Line Knight wrote: “Even today, a female artist is considered more or less a freak, and may be undervalued or overpraised... Now that womankind are no longer born to hold a needle in one hand and a scrubbing brush in the other, what great things may not happen?”

Anthony Spira, Director of MK Gallery, said: “This exhibition is an opportunity to look afresh both at Knight’s technical virtuosity as an artist and the role she played in dismantling institutional gender barriers in the 20th century. She was a truly modern artist - refusing to shy away from subjects that were underrepresented or hard-hitting and not afraid to reinvent her style throughout her long career.”

Laura Knight, A Panoramic View will present an in-depth look at Knight’s career, bringing together over 100 works from public and private collections, including rarely seen paintings and graphic works as well as designs for ceramics, jewellery and costume. The exhibition begins with early work from her time at Nottingham Art School in 1899 at the age of just 13, and landscapes of her beloved Cornwall created whilst living in an artist commune in Newlyn. Thematic groupings will explore key subjects in Knight’s work, such as the backstage life of ballet dancers and theatre performers and the magical world of the circus, as well as portraits of the travelling community in Iver, . Also included are paintings of the racially segregated maternity ward at John Hopkins University in , where Knight travelled in 1926 and met campaigners of the Civil Rights movement. The exhibition will feature some of Knight’s best-known works, created during the Second World War and commissioned by the War Artists’ Advisory Committee, depicting women’s work in the war effort and the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals, recorded over three months in Germany.

Working closely with Knight’s great nephew John Croft, MK Gallery is sourcing many previously unseen works. An extensive catalogue will accompany the exhibition, bringing fresh voices into the appreciation of Knight’s achievements, from a contemporary perspective. These include contributions by artists Monster Chetwynd, Hannah Starkey and Barbara Walker as well as writer Damian Le Bas, amongst others.

The exhibition is the first in a year-long season of exhibitions by female artists at MK Gallery, including the first major survey of British media artist Ingrid Pollard (11 March – 29 May 2022) and a retrospective of acclaimed 20th century American street photographer Vivian Maier (11 June – 25 September 2022).

For further information contact Bolton & Quinn: Jane Quinn or Daisy Taylor [email protected] / [email protected] 0207 221 5000

NOTES TO EDITORS

MK Gallery 2021 – 2022 exhibition programme:

Laura Knight, A Panoramic View 9 October 2021 – 20 February 2022 Supported by a Research Continuity Grant from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art Organised in co-operation with Penlee House Gallery & Museum, Penzance, part of a year of celebration of Laura Knight’s work including two exhibitions, each taking a separate focus on her career. Laura Knight: A Celebration will be on display at Penlee House Gallery & Museum 17 May – 16 September 2021

Ingrid Pollard, Carbon Slow Turning 11 March – 29 May 2022 The exhibition is made possible by the Freelands Foundation through the 2020 Freelands Award. MK Gallery is the fifth recipient of the annual £100,000 Freelands Award, established in 2016 to enable a regional arts organisation to present a large-scale exhibition by a mid- career female artist, including the creation of a major new body of work. The exhibition catalogue has received additional support from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art and the Association for Art History

Vivian Maier 11 June – 25 September 2022 The exhibition is curated by Anne Morin and has been produced by diChroma Photography.