Renowned Prairies painter Knowles leaves `legacy' of art
One of the most renowned painters to come from Saskatchewan, Dorothy Knowles is remembered for her loyalty to people and the Prairies.
“She was a woman of great integrity and professionalism, unwaveringly loyal, honest and direct,” longtime friend Linda Stark wrote in a statement. “Despite her tremendous talent and success, she was also incredibly humble, modest and unpretentious.”
Knowles died Tuesday at the age of 96.
Painting prolifically throughout her long career, she worked with acrylic, oil, watercolour and charcoal on various sizes of canvas.
“I don't do it for people. I just do it for myself,” Knowles said in a 2018 interview with the Saskatoon Starphoenix.
“I just want to pour that out on the canvas: my love for the landscape, my love for the trees and the sky and the wonderful radiance of the skies.”
Her works have found homes in galleries and museums across Canada.
“Her paintings that combine charcoal drawing and acrylic wash are some of her most recognizable, and also some of the finest Canadian landscapes ever painted,” said Stark, manager at The Gallery/art Placement Inc.
Knowles, who was born in Unity, painted landscapes across Canada, from mountains to the ocean, but focused mainly on the Prairies, where she chose to stay through her career.
“In doing so, she and her art probably did more to elevate the cultural profile of Saskatchewan than any other artist in this city, before or since,” Stark said.
Knowles believed there is beauty everywhere, Stark said. When artist Nancy Lowry once asked her for advice on what to paint, Knowles told her to “set up facing the most traditionally picturesque vista you could find, then turn around and paint whatever was behind you.”
An avid participant — and later, leader — at the Emma Lake Artists' Workshop from the start of her career, Knowles was encouraged in 1962 by American art critic Clement Greenberg to focus on landscape painting. Those paintings went on to influence the work of younger painters across Western Canada, Stark said.
Over a career that spanned nearly 75 years, Knowles gained national recognition for her work. She received the Order of Merit of Saskatchewan in 1987 and the Order of Canada in 2004.
“She was a great artist, surely one of the greatest I will ever know, and she produced an astonishing body of work that will live on and be cherished,” Stark said.
“Though she is gone, her art lives on and her legacy lives on through it.”