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Louis Aston Knight

New York/California/France, 1873-1948

Twilight along the River Bend

Oil on canvas
26 by 32 in. W/frame 35 by 41 in.
signed lower left"Aston Knight/Paris"

Provenance:

Private Collection, New York City
Le Trianon Fine Art & Antiques

Inventory Number: Art K48

1900-1949 American Landscape Period 1900-1949 Impressionist/Post Impressionist

See Artist Bio below.

Louis Aston Knight

New York/California/France, 1873-1948

In 1873, Louis Aston Knight was born in Paris. Knight was the son of the American expatriate painter, Daniel Ridgway Knight. Unlike his father, Knight was raised and educated in Europe. He attended the Chigwell School in England for his Liberal Arts Education and began his artistic training, under the guidance of his father. Later he studied formally with the great French Romantic painters, Robert Fleury and Jules Lefebvre at the Academie Julian.

In 1894 Knight debuted at the Paris Salon, starting a highly acclaimed career. Among his many awards, he won a Bronze medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, an honorable mention at the Paris Salon in 1901, a gold medal in Lyon in 1903, a gold medal in Geneva and in Nantes in 1904 and Gold medals at the Paris Salon in both 1905 and 1906, earning him the title Hors concours as the first American to win two gold medals at the Salon in two consecutive years. Knight was also made a knight of the Legion of Honor in 1924 becoming an officer in 1928 and eventually a commander in 1934.

Louis Aston Knight is most famous for his French landscapes, but he also painted American landscapes from the Hudson River to San Francisco, Santa Monica, and the Monterey Peninsula. You will not find figures in his work, due to an agreement which he made with his father in order to keep their work from looking too similar. This was however unnecessary, because their work is very different. Ridgway Knight painted tightly, while Aston Knight's work shows a much stronger influence of the Impressionists with whom he was friendly.

Aston looked up to Claude Monet, and visited him from time to time at his home in Giverny. He was particularly impressed with Monet's gardens, and strove to cultivate a garden as beautiful as the master's. Knight also awarded prizes each year to the neighboring peasants who kept the nicest gardens. This ensured him of good models for his cottage landscape paintings.

Gradually Aston Knight became well known in the New York art scene and began to do some of his work in the states. In 1911, Knoedler and Co., held an exhibition of his landscapes of the U.S.A. and France. His exhibition at the Levy Gallery in New York, in 1931 attracted much attention. In fact, "Art News" critiqued the show (26 December issue) and described his fame and plein air approach.

Aston Knight was a favorite of American presidents in his day. In 1922, President Harding purchased a Louis Aston Knight, to hang in the White House, and President Coolidge held a private exhibition of Knight's work during his presidency.

Many of his works have had international acclaim and are housed in the art collections of the Picker Art Gallery, Colgate University; Strong Museum, Rochester, New York; and the Hudson River Museum of Westchester.