Remembering Dorothy Knowles

It is with great sadness that we are to share with you that Dorothy Knowles passed away peacefully with her family on Tuesday morning, May 16, 2023, at the age of 96.

She will be fondly remembered and missed. A regal and classy woman, Knowles was an artist that stayed true to herself and her calling in landscape painting.

In 1948, Knowles had enrolled in an art class that would turn out to be the turning point in her life, and her dedication and passion in art. It was here that she met instructor, and long-time friend Reta Cowley. With a new found fire lit within, she continued to explore art and soon left her aspirations to be a lab technician to pursue painting.

Flash forward to the 1960s, Dorothy Knowles attended workshops at the Emma Lake Art Camp led by the American art critic Clement Greenberg (1962), artist Kenneth Noland (1963), Jules Olitski (1964), Lawrence Alloway (1965), and Michael Steiner (1969). All of these workshops had varying degrees of influence on her work, changing her style from a heavy impasto favoured by Greenberg to a more fluid technique preferred by Noland. Most importantly, she discovered the joy of working directly from nature. Thus, weather permitted, she worked out of doors, at times producing finished paintings, at times sketches and photographs which she used in the studio.

She has accomplished so much during her comprehensive career, receiving; The Order Of Canada (Member), The Saskatchewan Order of Merit, and membership in the Royal Canadian Academy.

She was always humble and a wealth of knowledge. Her contribution to the arts and landscape painting in Canada will be forever remembered and recognized by all. Her fabulous connection to nature and ability to capture her surroundings; undeniable. Her mark-making and style distinct and indisputably her own.

She will be fondly remembered and greatly missed. We wish the family much condolences; our hearts go out to you in this time of grief.