Gwendolyn Knight: Difference between revisions

Knight painted throughout her life but did not start seriously exhibiting her work until the 1970s. Her first retrospective was put on when she was nearly 90 years old, "Never Late for Heaven: The Art of Gwen Knight," at the [[Tacoma Art Museum]] in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/obituaries/27knight.html |newspaper= The New York Times |title=Gwendolyn Knight, 91, Artist Who Blossomed Late in Life, Is Dead |first=Christopher|last=Lehmann-Haupt |date=February 27, 2005}}</ref> Her teachers in the arts included the sculptor [[Augusta Savage]] (who obtained support for her from the [[Works Progress Administration]]) and [[Jacob Lawrence]], whom she married in 1941 and remained married to until his death in 2000.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/27/obituaries/27knight.html Cotter, Holland. (June 10, 2000).'' "Jacob Lawrence Is Dead at 82; Vivid Painter Who Chronicled Odyssey of Black Americans." New York Times'']''.''</ref> During the course of her career, she received many awards, including the National Honor Award, and two [[honorary degree|honorary]] [[doctorate degree]]s, from [[University of Minnesota]] and [[Seattle University]].

In 1934 Knight joined a Works Progress Administration (WPA) mural project, where she met her future husband and fellow painter, [[Jacob Lawrence]]. The couple were married in 1941. In 1946, [[Josef Albers]] invited them to teach at [[Black Mountain College]], which had begun integrating and incorporating African-American culture into its curriculum a few years prior to the couple's time there.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mountainx.com/arts/jacob-and-gwendolyn-lawrence-and-the-integration-of-black-mountain-college/|title=Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence and the integration of Black Mountain College|last=Marshall|first=Alli|website=Mountain Xpress|date=23 February 2017 |language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-25}}</ref> During the 1950s, the couple worked and lived in New York. Then in 1964, they traveled to Nigeria. In 1971, Lawrence accepted a position at [[University of Washington]]’s School of Art. The couple moved to Seattle, where they lived as active members of the artist community and of the city itself.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.historylink.org/File/5120|title=Jacob Lawrence and Gwendolyn Knight|last=Earl Thomas|first=Barbara|date=23 January 2003|website=|publisher=HistoryLink.org|access-date=28 January 2017}}</ref> Knight even procured support from The National Links, Inc. for her first one-woman show, which was developed in 1976. This exhibit sparked a greater desire for her work and the acquiring of her pieces by national museums.<ref name="phillipscollection.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/knight-bio.htm |website=www.phillipscollection.org |title=Gwendolyn Knight (1913–2005) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831101404/https://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/bios/knight-bio.htm |archive-date=31 August 2020}}</ref>

Knight succeeded her husband,survived Lawrence,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lawrence, Jacob (1917–2000) and Gwendolyn Knight (1913–2005)|url=https://www.historylink.org/File/5120|access-date=2020-11-03|website=www.historylink.org}}</ref> and passed away in Seattle on February 18, 2005, at the age of 91.<ref name="phillipscollection.org" />

Knight's work focused on narrative paintings depicting the life, culture, and history of African Americans, through still life, portraits, and urban scenes. The majority of her career produced oil portraits of friends, figure studies of dancers, and watercolor and gouache landscapes. However, her work began to shift in the 1990s incorporating lyrical depictions of animals through etchings and monoprints. Her inspiration came from spontaneous responses to her surroundings, as well as African dance, sculpture, and theater.<ref name="phillipscollection.org"/>.