Artist in focus: Dame Laura Knight
RA Collection talk
Wednesday 8 March 2017 11.30am - 12pm
Meet on the Sackler Landing, Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly
Free, booking required.
Celebrate International Women’s Day by joining Senior RA Collection Curator Helen Valentine behind-the-scenes in the Library as she discusses the work and life of Dame Laura Knight, the first woman ever to be elected Royal Academician.
At the height of her fame, Dame Laura Knight (1877–1970) was probably the best-known female artist in the UK. She was rarely without a sketchbook wherever she went and over 300 of her lively, accomplished drawings are in the RA Collection.
This event is an opportunity to view a selection of her sketches and studies depicting ballet dancers, circus performers and scenes of everyday life.
An artist known for her daring, resolute spirit as well as for her art, Knight was awarded a Damehood in 1929. Her success was crowned nine years later when she became the first woman to be elected to full membership of the Royal Academy and in 1965 she became the first female Academician to have a retrospective exhibition of her work at the Royal Academy.
International Women’s Day 2017 at the Royal Academy
To mark International Women’s Day 2017, the Royal Academy of Arts is presenting a week of talks, workshops and tours to explore ideas of gender, material and identity in art. Focusing on women artists across different RA exhibitions and the RA Collection, join us to discover some of the under-acknowledged accomplishments of women artists throughout history.