Harold Knight

Harold Knight (27 January 1874 – 3 October 1961) was an English portrait, genre and landscape painter.

Life and work

Knight was born in Nottingham, England, the son of an architect, and studied at Nottingham School of Art under Wilson Foster. At the School of Art he met fellow artist Laura Johnson, whom he married in 1903. As Laura Knight, she became well known for her paintings of scenes from the ballet, circus etc.

After spending time in Paris, studying art under Jean-Paul Laurens and Benjamin-Constant, then at Staithes on the North Yorkshire coast, Harold Knight moved in 1907, with Laura, to Newlyn, a fishing port in Cornwall, where they became part of the famous Newlyn School.

During the First World War Knight’s principles led him to be a conscientious objector, which earned him the rebuke of many of his colleagues and former friends, and put a strain on his physical and mental health, as he was required to work as a farm labourer. When the War ended, he and Laura moved to London, although they frequently returned to Cornwall to paint.

H. M. Knight

Sir Harold Murray Knight KBE, DSC (13 August 1919 – 19 June 2015) was an Australian economist. He was the third Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, serving from 1975 to 1982.

He was educated at Scotch College, Melbourne (1933–1935) and Melbourne University where he was resident at Trinity College. He graduated with a Master of Commerce degree.

During World War II, Knight enlisted in the Australian Army on 1 July 1940. In 1943, he transferred to the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve, where he served on the survey ship HMAS Polaris and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for distinguished service in successful survey work under dangerous conditions in the Far East.

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the New Year's Day Honours of 1980.

He was the grandfather of novelist Dominic Knight, and of artist Jasper Knight, whose portrait of him was shortlisted for the Archibald Prize in 2006.

References