Oil Paint and Grease Paint: the life and work of Dame Laura Knight RA
A Talk by Megan Jones

Dame Laura Knight DBE RA RWS (1877-1970) was one of the most famous and prolific female British artists. She went from an impoverished childhood to achieve worldwide recognition and died in her 93rd year after an astonishingly long, prolific and varied career.

Her artistic output spanned everything from oil and watercolours to printmaking, posters, theatrical and ballet costume, ceramics and jewellery. She was awarded the DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 1929 for her services to art and in 1936 she was the first woman to be elected as a Royal Academician. She was the only woman to be given War Commissions in the Two World Wars, and at the age of 69, she was commissioned as the only British artist to cover the Nuremberg Trials.

Megan Jones is a researcher and speaker who delivers specialised presentations on the life, struggles, and artistic achievements of Dame Laura Knight. This fully illustrated talk will look at her life, work and
distinctive personality. She explores how Knight bypassed conventional boundaries, her relationships with bohemian artist colonies (like the Newlyn School in Cornwall), and her intricate techniques using oils, watercolours, and etchings. All in all, a quite extraordinary life.