Dame Laura Knight, D.B.E., R.A., LL.D.

"You will be elected to the Royal Academy one day". That is what Dame Laura Knight's mother said to her when she was only a few years old. The prophecy was fulfilled; in 1927 she was made an A.R.A. and in 1936 an R.A. Just before she was married to Harold Knight her first varnishing ticket came from the Royal Academy for a picture called "Mother and Child", which she painted at Staithes. She is now in the first rank of English artists, famous particularly for her fine studies of circus life.
Her talk today will be illustrated with several of her pictures, including "The Ballet", which was one of the attractions of last year's Academy Exhibition. Some of the special pottery which she has designed for the Coronation will also be shown.