Laura Knight is described by art historians as the most important female artist of 20th-century Britain. In 1929 she was made a Dame, and in 1936 she became the first female to be elected to the exclusive Royal Academy - the first woman since its inception in 1768. She captured in oils and watercolours the world of theatre and ballet, became an official war artist during WWII, and then was sent to Nuremburg to record the trials in paint. She also made a beeline for marginalised communities - gypsies, circus performers and the workers in the Southern states in the US. Born in Nottinghamshire, she spent time in Yorkshire, the Netherlands, Cornwall (Lamorna) and Baltimore. She married Harold Knight in 1903. Her talents spread beyond just painting - she designed costumes for theatre and ballet, drew posters for London Transport and created ceramics for Clarice Cliff (including the official coronation mug for George VI). Her success in the male-dominated British art establishment paved the way for greater status and recognition for women artists.
