Dame Laura Knight, R.A., R.W.S.

Christie's, 19 June 1997, lot 19;
Private collection

The picture has been relined. The work appears in good overall condition, clean and ready to hang. Ultraviolet light reveals an area of retouching to the black car with the green trunk. Held in a gilt wood frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

It was the great equine painter Alfred Munnings who suggested that Knight paint the races at Epsom, ‘Just the sort of thing to suit you… come with Violet and me… I’ll show you around’ (Caroline Fox, Dame Laura Knight, 1988, p.85), when Carmo's Circus closed down, depriving Knight of subjects to paint. However it was her friends from the circus, Ally and Joe Bert, whointroduced her to the spectacle of a race-meet, both from the perspective of the spectators in the stands and the gaily-attired gypsy fortune-tellers and grooms. After Joe’s death Knight continued to accompany his widow Ally to the races and on one occasion Mrs Bert introduced her to Mr Sully, who owned a Rolls Royce that had driven Joe’s coffin to his funeral. The car was also used to take bridal parties to church at weekends but as it was available during the week, Knight suggested that Sully should drive her and Ally to the races every day during the racing season or to the gypsy camp at Iver to paint the wrinkled visage of Granny Smith or the beautiful raven-haired Beulah. On race-days the spacious vehicle was parked on the slopes of the race-track and its elevated position and commodious interior allowed Knight to work on canvases as large as A Dull Day at Epsom, protected from inclement weather or glaring sunshine.   

The present picture, painted from the open door of Sully’s Rolls Royce circa 1940, captures the excitement of race-day, with one spectator standing on the roof of her car to watch the horses as they gallop past and another scrambling up the back of his vehicle with binoculars clasped to his eyes. The grandstand and its crowd dominates the background but the empty foreground behind the line of cars parked behind the press-tent, demonstrates Knight’s ability to place herself in a more ‘backstage’ setting, just as she did when she painted ballerinas and circus performers in their dressing-rooms or behind the curtain of an auditorium. These pictures convey the more intimate scenes that Knight was able to witness, as an accepted part of the peripheral life of the racing community and not simply an observer viewing from a physical and social distance. Unlike Munnings, who concentrated on painting the grandeur of the winning-enclosure and the energy of the horses with their flared nostrils at the starting-line, Knight was as interested in the spectators naturally observed.