BIOGRAPHY - Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Daniel Ridgway Knight's works represent so many aspects of Nineteenth Century painting, including history, genre, landscape, portrait, and floral themes. In each work, all that is aesthetic is recorded with fine detail and skill. To faithfully record the scenery, Knight studied the different phases of the day and their effects on the environment. Knight built a glass studio outside of his home, enabling him to paint outdoors, even in the dead of winter. Whether he was concentrating on the evening with the glow of moonlight upon the Seine River or on a young woman in a brightly colored flower garden at midday, each scene is depicted with great detail and specific attention to a realistic portrayal of the landscape. Daniel Ridgway Knight was born on March 15, 1839, in Pennsylvania. He studied and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he was a classmate of Mary Cassatt and Thomas Eakins. In 1861, he went to Paris to study at l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Cabanel and apprentice in the atelier of Charles-Gabriel-Gleyre. He returned to Philadelphia in 1863 to serve in the Union Army. During the war, Knight practiced sketching facial expressions and capturing human emotion in his work. He sketched battle scenes, recording the war for history, and was an early member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club, where he showed works that dealt with the Civil War, mythology, and scenes from opera. In 1871 Knight married Rebecca Morris Webster, and after the wedding, he began working as a portrait painter to make enough money to return to France. In 1872, once settled in France, Knight befriended Renoir, Sisley, and Wordsworth, all of whose influences can be seen in his work. He also enjoyed a close relationship with Meissonier. In 1875 he painted a painting called Wash Day (35 ½" x 51 ¼") after a sketch by Meissonier for which he received critical acclaim. Knight was also strongly affected by the works of Jean-Francois Millet. In 1874 while painting in Barbizon, Knight visited Millet and found his view of peasant life to be too fatalistic. As opposed to Millet, Knight focused on depicting the rural classes during their happier moments. Other important influences were Bastien-Lepage, whom he is most often compared, and Jules Breton for his plein-air style. Knight's works during the 1870s and 1880s focused on the peasant at work in the field or doing the day's chores - collecting water or washing clothes at the riverside. His painting Hailing the Ferry, painted in 1888 and currently in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts collection, depicts two peasant girls calling for the ferryman on the other side of the river. This work, considered one of the artist's masterpieces, captures all the elements of his pre-Rolleboise period - the subdued light and color, the finely detailed figures, and the artist's acute attention to detail. By the late 1890s, Knight established a home in Rolleboise, some forty miles west of Paris. Here he began to paint the scenes that were to make his work so sought after by contemporary collectors - views of his garden. His home had a beautiful garden terrace that overlooked the Seine - a view he often used in his paintings. Collectors from across the globe vied for these works, which featured pretty local girls in his garden. Works from this period include The Roses, currently in the collection of the J.B. Speed Museum, and The Letter in the Joslyn Art Museum - both of which feature pretty young women surrounded by lush flora. Knight received a third class medal at the Salon in 1888 for Hailing the Ferry and a Gold Medal at the Munich Exhibition that same year. In 1889, he was awarded a Silver Medal at the Paris Exposition and was knighted in the Legion of Honor (becoming an officer in 1914). In 1896 he received the Grand Medal of Honor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Daniel R. Knight died in Paris on March 9, 1924. Selected Works In Museum Collections The Burning of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania (1867) - The Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD. Scene from Faust - Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ. Peasants Lunching in a Field (1875) - Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA. Market at Poissy (1876) - The Museum at Drexel University, Phil., PA. At the Well (1880) - Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y. Rural Courtship (n.d.) - Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK. Waiting for the Ferry (1885) - Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY Noonday Meal (1887) - Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA. Hailing the Ferry (1888) - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Phil., PA. The Water Carriers (1892) - Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI. The Shepherdess (1896) - Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, N.Y. The Trysting Place (n.d.) - Haggin Museum, Stockton, CA. Springtime (n.d.) - Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, N.Y. The Gossips (n.d.) - The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, PA. Noonday Meal (n.d.) - Carnegie Institute, Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA. Life is Sweet (n.d.) - Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH. Landscape at Swickley PA. (n.d.) - Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT. The Idler (n.d.) - Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH. Girl by a Stream (n.d.) - Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN. Brittany Girl Fishing (n.d.) - Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL. The Roses (n.d.) - J.B. Speed Museum, Louisville, KY. The Letter - Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NB. French Thrift - Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NB.
Literature Americans in Brittany and Normandy, 1860-1910, Phoenix Art Museum. A Pastoral Legacy: Paintings and Drawings by the American Artists Ridgway Knight and Aston Knight, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Cornell University 1989. Weinberg, H. Barbara, The Lure of Paris, Nineteenth Century American Painters and Their French Teachers, Abbeville Press Publishers, N.Y., 1991, Pgs 63-66. Weisberg, Gabriel P., Redefining Genre: French and American Painting, 1850-1900, The Trust for Museum Exhibitions, 1995, Pgs. 69-71. Catalogue for the traveling exhibition: Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Memphis, TN., Sept. - Dec. 1995; Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL., Jan. - Feb. 1996; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA., Feb. - April 1996; Meridian International Center, Washington, D.C., May - July 1996 Weisberg, Gabriel P., Collecting in the Gilded Age: Art Patronage in Pittsburgh, 1890-1910, Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA., 1997, Balding + Mansell, Kettering.
AVAILABLE WORKS | |
 Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Le jardin négligé Oil on canvas 32 x 25.5 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Coming Through the Rye Oil on canvas 32.5 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris | Sold Works |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Gossips Oil on canvas 30 x 36 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Returning from the Garden Oil on canvas 39.5 x 32.25 inches Signed, inscribed Paris, and dated 1878 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Pet Dove Oil on canvas 32 1/4 x 25 3/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Maria Gathering Flowers Oil on canvas 26 x 21 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Reverie de Soir (Maria on the Terrace, Rolleboise) Oil on canvas 33 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Maria by the River Oil on canvas 32 1/4 x 26 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Maria Among the Poppies Oil on canvas on board 32 1/2 x 26 1/4 inches SIgned and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Outside the Gate Oil on canvas 27 x 22 inches Signed |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) In Winter Oil on canvas 27 3/4 x 21 3/4 inches Signed, inscribed and dated 1880 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Cutting Roses Oil on canvas 45 3/4 x 35 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) On the Terrace, Rolleboise Oil on canvas 22 x 18 3/4 inches Signed |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Friendly Advice Oil on canvas 26 3/4 x 32 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Polishing the Urn Oil on canvas 32 7/8 x 26 3/8 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Resting Oil on canvas 22 1/2 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) At the Water's Edge (Girl with Copper Jug) Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Marie in the Roses Oil on canvas 32 1/2 x 26 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Clair du lune Oil on canvas 22 1/4 x 18 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The News Oil on canvas 34 x 46 3/4 inches Signed, inscribed Paris & dated 1886 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Contemplation, The Day's End Oil on canvas 22 x 18 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Madeleine & Maria on the Terrace Oil on canvas 25 7/8 x 31 1/8 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Maria on the Terrace, Rolleboise Oil on canvas 36 1/2 x 29 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Woodcutter's Breakfast Oil on canvas 29 1/4 x 36 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Water Carrier Watercolor 14 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Après un dejeuner, bords de la Seine Oil on canvas 39 3/4 x 53 inches Signed, inscribed Paris and dated '81 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Among the Poppies Oil on canvas 32 1/2 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Potato Gatherer Watercolor 14 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Heading to the Fields Watercolor 14 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) On the Path at Dusk, Rolleboise Oil on canvas 22 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Lesson Oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Picking Poppies Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Quiétude Oil on canvas on board 47 x 36 inches Signed, inscribed Paris and dated 1900 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Woman Gathering Berries Oil on canvas 32 x 25 7/8 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Day's Catch Oil on canvas 32 1/4 x 25 3/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Fishing Oil on canvas 18 3/4 x 22 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Polishing an Urn Watercolor 19 x 12 3/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) A Moment's Pause Oil on canvas 22 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Madeleine in a Wheat Field Oil on canvas 26 x 21 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Study of Woman in Field Watercolor 10 x 14 inches Signed, inscribed, and dated 1883 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Study of Woman Sewing Watercolor 10 x 14 inches Signed, inscribed, and dated 1883 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Jeanne sur la terrasse Oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) A Pensive Moment Oil on canvas on board 46 3/4 x 35 3/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) At Rest in the Fields Pencil on paper 7 3/8 x 9 inches Signed |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Gathering Flowers Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) In the Field Oil on canvas 22 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Watching Oil on canvas 22 1/4 x 18 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris; titled on the reverse |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Distracted Water Carrier Oil on canvas 22 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Maria, By the Seine Oil on canvas 32 1/4 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Time to Rest Oil on canvas 22 1/4 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Signal Oil on canvas 21 3/4 x 18 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Dolce Far Niente Oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Julia Gathering Roses Oil on canvas 22 1/8 x 18 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Girl Picking Poppies Oil on canvas 22 1/4 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Les Lavandières Oil on canvas 48 x 59 1/2 inches Signed, inscribed Paris, and dated 1908 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) La source Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Maria on the Terrace Oil on canvas 32 1/4 x 25 3/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Afternoon Sun, Rolleboise Watercolor 14 5/8 x 10 5/8 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Julia - Corner of the Garden Oil on canvas 32 x 25 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Gossips Oil on canvas 26 x 32 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Le Dejeuner Oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Picking Poppies Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Village Seamstress Oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches Signed, Inscribed Paris and dated 1916 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Lecon de Danse Oil on canvas 35 1/2 x 46 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) A Pensive Moment Oil on canvas 22 3/4 x 30 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Au bord de la riviere Oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Dejeuner dans les Champs Oil on canvas 29 x 37 inches Signed, inscribed Paris and dated 1884 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Sur la Terrasse Oil on canvas 36 x 46 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) En Vendanges Oil on canvas 48 x 60 inches Signed, inscribed Paris and dated 1905 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) La Sieste Oil on canvas 19 3/4 x 24 3/4 inches Signed, inscribed Paris and dated 1882 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Chrysanthemums Oil on canvas 21 3/4 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Fisherman's Daughter Oil on canvas 22 x 18 1/4 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Sur la Terrasse (Maria and Madeleine) Oil on canvas 28 7/8 x 36 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) La Petite Jardinière Oil on canvas 33 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Hollyhocks Oil on canvas 36 1/2 x 29 inches Signed, inscribed Paris and dated 1888 |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Partant pour le Travail Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Les Cerisiers Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Martha, A Days Sport Oil on canvas 22 x 18 1/8 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Confidence Oil on canvas 25 5/8 x 31 5/8 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Meditation Oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) At Poissy 'Your Health' Oil on canvas 22 x 18 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) By the Riverside Oil on canvas 32 x 25 1/2 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Waiting for the Ferryman Oil on canvas 26 x 32 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Sewing Circle Oil on canvas 35 x 46 inches Signed |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Maria and Madeleine on the Terrace Oil on canvas 29 x 36 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Flower Girl Oil on canvas 26 x 21 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Maria on the Terrace with a Bundle of Grass Oil on canvas 33 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) The Grass Cutter Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches SIgned and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) On the Terrace at Rolleboise Oil on canvas 26 x 32 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Gathering Roses Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Gossips Oil on canvas 32 x 26 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Returning Home Oil on canvas 32 x 24 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) In the Garden Oil on canvas 22 x 19 inches Signed and inscribed Paris |  Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839 - 1924) Going to the Wash-House Oil on canvas 26 x 32 inches Signed, inscribed Paris and dated 1893 |
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