This late 19th-century gouache by British artist Joseph Knight (1837-1909) depicts a gentle moorland landscape with cattle. Knight was primarily known for his naturalistic depictions of North Wales.

Raised amid the hurried industrious streets of Chorlton-Upon-Medlock in Manchester, Knight was obliged to pursue a career at one of its many cotton mills. His father, also Joseph Knight, was a mill engineer and would’ve expected his son to follow suit. It appears he was sent to work at the age of four - unthinkable today, but not uncommon in the 1840s.

In around 1841, Knight was involved in an accident, which resulted in the loss of his right arm. This probably coincided with him being sent, together with his siblings, to stay with relatives, Thomas and Jane Knight, also of Chorlton. Evidently, following this, he undertook a change of direction, taking the first steps on a path to artistry.

During the mid to late 19th century, landscape paintings grew in popularity partly due to the desires of a new middle-class buyer but also as a tonic for increasing urbanisation. And perhaps there’s no better example of an artist who understood the restorative qualities of nature than Joseph Knight.

In his early teens, he gained employment at a photography studio, primarily assisting with portraiture. With a keen eye for composition, his skills flourished and were met with much approval from staff and customers alike. It was here that he first met with Mr. Henry Crowley who was so taken by the boy’s aptitude that he encouraged him to seek a career as a painter. Crowley funded his education, enrolling him at the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, where the emphasis was on honing one’s draughtsmanship in a strict environment via diligent study and life drawing.

With his technique now evolved, commissions were forthcoming - both as a painter and photographer. In the 1861 census, now married, he records his occupation as ‘Photographic artist and painter in oil’. It’s plausible that he was involved in adding tints to photographic portraits during this period while also working as a painter.

As recognition of his development, in 1868, he was elected as a full member of the Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, and a year later debuted at London’s Royal Academy with ‘Evening, Near Quimper, Brittany’ and ‘Breton Peasants’. It was around this time that he came to the attention of several of his younger contemporaries who viewed his naturalistic approach as altogether fresher and entirely modern. In a quiet rebellion against their formulaic training, they undertook to paint directly from nature, ‘en plein air’, without the rigour of academic constraints. The group, which included Joshua Anderson Hague (1850-1916) and John Herbert Evelyn Partington (1843-1899), gathered at Knight’s studio to share ideas and discuss emerging techniques. Somewhat inspired by the French ‘Barbizon School’ painters, they were initially derided by the critics yet paved the way for future generations.

Knight’s work during his time in Manchester was compelling and innovative but he’s best remembered for his picturesque views of North Wales. He adored the diversity of the Welsh countryside, moving first to Bettws Y Coed, the gateway to monumental Snowdonia, and later to Llanrhos in Conway.

Here, in this work from 1897, he captured a wide-sweeping moor with shimmering water enlivened by a horizontal flash of brilliant white. Cattle graze in verdant pasture, shaded by gentle peaks, with low-lying clouds guiding the eye towards a hazy tinted horizon. It’s possibly Denbigh Moors, an upland region between Snowdonia and the Clwydian Range. 

A Victorian critic described his works as “all instinct with the feeling of awe and solemnity which filled his soul when gazing upon nature”. Another proclaimed that “no English painter in our time has felt and communicated through his paint a more sincere and intense emotion in the presence of the grandeur and desolation of high moorland.”

Joseph Knight exhibited at the Royal Academy for 35 years and was elected a member of the Dudley Gallery, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, the Royal Etchers, the Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, the Limners Club and Art-Min-Afon, Betws-y-Coed. He’s represented in numerous public collections including at the British Museum, Tate Britain, and the V&A.

Signed/dated lower left and held within a later frame. Glazed.

Learn more about Joseph Knight in our directory.

Medium: Gouache on paper
Overall size: 36” x 27” / 92cm x 69cm
Year of creation: 1897
Provenance: Private collection, UK.
Condition: Assessed and approved by our conservator. Frame with light marks.
Artist’s auction maximum: £2,495 for ‘An October Day (1885)’, Oil on canvas, Sotheby's, Victorian Paintings, London, 1991 (lot 141).
Our reference: BRV1584