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KNOWLES, Dorothy Elsie
- Born
- Unity, Saskatchewan, 1927
- Died
- Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 2023
- Biography synopsis
- Dorothy Knowles graduated from the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) with a degree in biology in 1948. In the same year while working as a laboratory technician, she attended the Emma Lake Workshops, where she studied with Reta Cowley. She took painting courses at the University of Saskatchewan between 1948 and 1952, and in the summer of '52 she attended the Banff School of Fine Arts. Knowles later studied at Goldsmiths College in London. She married artist William Perehudoff in Paris; they travelled through Italy and France before returning to Saskatchewan in 1952. She continued to take workshops at the Emma Lake Art School with art critic Clement Greenberg (1962) and artists Kenneth Noland (1963), Jules Olitski (1964), Lawrence Alloway (1965), and Michael Steiner (1969). Recognized for her large-scale prairie landscape paintings, she worked directly from nature, notably from her van, which served as a portable studio. Her work is held in many public and private collections throughout Canada, including among others, the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Mendel Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery and Boston Museum. In 1987 Knowles was awarded the Order of Merit of Saskatchewan, and in 2004 she received the Order of Canada.
- Media used
- Painting
- Printmaking
- Watercolour
- Education
- Banff School of Fine Arts, 1952 - ?
- Goldsmiths College, London, 1951 - ?
- University of Saskatchewan, 1948 - 1952 (under Eli Bornstein, Nicholas Bjelejac)
- Emma Lake - University of Saskatchewan Art School, 1948 - ? (under Reta Cowley (1948), Clement Greenberg (1962), Kenneth Noland (1963), Jules Olitski (1964), Lawrence Alloway (1965))
- Memberships
- Royal Canadian Academy of Arts
- File & Archive locations
- Art Gallery of Ontario - Edward P. Taylor Research Library and Archives
- Artexte Information Centre, QC - Documentation Centre
- Edmonton Art Gallery, AB - Library
- University of British Columbia - Fine Arts Library
- Vancouver Art Gallery, BC - Library
- University of Manitoba - Architecture and Fine Arts Library
- Winnipeg Art Gallery, MA - Clara Lander Library
- Hamilton Public Library, ON - Local History and Archives Department
- London Public Library, ON
- Montreal Museum of Fine Arts / Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, QC
- National Gallery of Canada, ON - Library and Archives
- Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, QC - Media Centre
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
Writings about- Two Saskatchewan Painters: Dorothy Perehudoff and Clara Samuels Regina: Regina Public Library, 1963
- "One-Man Show." Star-Phoenix 27 Sept. 1957
- "Saskatchewan Artist's Show Officially Opens." Times-Herald (Moose Jaw) 21 June 1968
- Armstrong, Christopher and H.V. Nelles. The Painted Valley: Artists Along Alberta's Bow River, 1845-2000 Calgary, Alberta: University of Calgary Press, 2007
- Belanger, Joe. "Innovative Paintings by Dorothy Knowles Exhibited for First Time." Londoner 06 Jun 2019: A11
- Bennett, Jocelyn. "Summers at Emma: Sask. artists reflect on legacy of Emma Lake workshops (part 1)." Saskatoon StarPhoenix 11. Aug 2022"
http://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/local-arts/an-absolute-gift-to-artists-local-artists-remember-emma-lake-workshops - Britski, A.D.. The Edge of Painting: the Emma Lake Artists' Workshops and the Politics of Location. Ottawa: Carleton University, 2008
http://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/97fae040-3fbe-413c-8891-a030737db29f/etd_pdf/a59eddc7a94a6218289e45d52264f21f/britski-theedgeofpaintingtheemmalakeartistsworkshops.pdf - C. G. P. “Clement Greenberg’s View of Art on the Prairies.” Canadian Art 20.2 (Mar-Apr. 1963)
- Carpenter, Ken. "Dorothy Knowles Paints a Painting." Canadian Art 4.4 (1987): 72-75
- Dault, Gary. "Dorothy Knowles." Border Crossings 28.3 (August 2009): 118-119
- Dillow, Nancy. Emma Lake Workshops, 1955-1973 Regina, Saskatchewan: Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1973
- Edmonton Art Gallery. Dorothy Knowles. Edmonton: Edmonton Art Gallery, 1973
- Enright, Robert. "Saskatoon: an Isolated Bastion of Modernism or a Community in which Art and Artists Thrive?" Canadian Art 1.2 (Winter 1984)
- Eyland, Cliff. 2015. "Letter to a Young Artist." Border Crossings (Sep. 2015): 72-75
- Farr, Dorothy and Luckyj, Natalie. From Women's Eyes: Women Painters in Canada Kingston: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1975
- Fenton, Terry. Dorothy Knowles: Paintings, 1964-1982/Peintures, 1964-1982. Edmonton: The Edmonton Art Gallery, 1983
- Fenton, Terry. Land Marks: The Art of Dorothy Knowles. Regina: Hagios Press, 2008
- Fenton, Terry and Karen Wilkin. Modern Painting in Canada: A Survey of Major Movements in Twentieth Century Canadian Art. Edmonton, AL: Edmonton Art Gallery, 1978
- Fenton, Terry and Roald Nasgaard. Dorothy Knowles: Woven Beauty: Paintings/Tableaux. Montreal: Han Art, 2011
- Heath, Terrence. "Dorothy Knowles." artscanada (Autumn 1972): 70
- Heller, Jules and Nancy. North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century New York: Garland, 1995
- Hudson, A.. "The Paintings as Object." Canadian Art 22.2 (Mar/Apr 1965): 34
- Hudson, Andrew. "Dorothy Knowles Pereduhoff." A Saskatoon Review (Oct. 23 1962):n.p.
- Hudson, Andrew. "Dorothy Knowles Perehudoff at the James Art Studio." Canadian Art 20.3 (1963): 147
- Klunder, Harold and Ann Beam. Intervention: 31 Femmes peintres/ 31 Women Painters Montreal: Visual Arts Centre, 2018
- Kurz, Larissa. "New MJMAG Exhibition showcasing Female Prairie Artists from Gallery’s Permanent Collection." MooseJaw Today 12 Feb. 2021
http://www.moosejawtoday.com/local-news/new-mjmag-exhibition-showcasing-female-prairie-artists-from-gallerys-permanent-collection-3421403 - MacDonald, Colin S.. The Dictionary of Canadian Artists (Volumes 1-8 by Colin S. MacDonald, and volume 9 by Anne Newlands and Judith Parker) Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 2009
- Nagel, Marie. "Local Artist's Work Exhibited in Toronto." Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon) 23 Jan. 1967
- Newlands, Anne. Canadian Art: From its Beginnings to 2000 Richmond Hill, Ontario: Firefly Books, 2000
- Newman, Marketa. The Biographical Dictionary of Saskatchewan Artists, Women Artists Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1990
- O'Brian, John, et al. The Flat Side of the Landscape: The Emma Lake Artists' Workshops Saskatoon, Sask: Mendel Art Gallery, 1989., 1989
- Olson, Matt. "91-year-old Artist Part of Prairie-focused Exhibition at Remai Modern." Saskatoon Star Phoenix 13 Sept. 2018
http://thestarphoenix.com/entertainment/local-arts/0913-you-arts-exhibit - Rees, Robert. "Images of the Prairie: Landscape Painting and Perception in the Western Interior of Canada." The Canadian Geographer 20.3 (Sept. 1976): 259-278
- Rees, Ronald. Land of Earth and Sky: Landscape Painting of Western Canada Western Producer Prairie Books, 1984
- Reichwein, P. and K. Wall. Uplift: Visual Culture at the Banff School of Fine Arts Banff: Banff School of Fine Arts, 2020
- Simmins, Richard and W.G. Constable. Ten Artists of Saskatchewan, 1955 Regina, Saskatchewan: Norman Mackenzie Art Gallery, 1955
- Skidmore, Colleen. "Dorothy Knowles's Rural Landscape Painting Modernity and Tradition in Urban Saskatchewan." Vancouver: University of British Columbia, 1989
- Skidmore, Colleen. “The Art of Dorothy Knowles: Greenbergian Femininity.” Woman’s Art Journal 13 (Spring/Summer1992): 10–14
- Taylor, Sue. "Clem's Cache." Art in America 89.11 (2001): 100-109
- Tippett, Maria. By a Lady Toronto: Viking, 1992
- Wilkin, K.. "William Perehudoff and Dorothy Knowles: Two Painters from Saskatchewan." Artmagazine (Canada) 10.42 (1979): 35-36
