Portrait of an artist

Dame Laura Knight, who made a point of getting on with everyone, was a life-long friend of the rumbustious Alfred Munnings, who much preferred horses to people. His early portrait Laura Knight Painting shows her from behind, in a meadow and in rapt attention as she freely depicts a horse and rider, all but smothered by Edwardian dress. It is an apt tribute to a pioneer whose life lay wholly in art. Munnings even put her up at the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich, but threw a fit when presented with the bill. His guest had added to the expense by taking an unexpected bath.