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'Gypsy Splendour', 1939
by Laura Knight
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Laura Knight was born in Long
Eaton, Derbyshire. The subject matter of her paintings
was extremely varied, and she painted people from
many different walks of life. In her 50s she began
spending time with travellers and Romany Gypsies;
her paintings depict the joy, freedom and sometimes
hardship of a traveller's life.
In the late 1920s she painted Gypsies at the Epsom
races. These people reminded her of the Romany Gypsies
she had met as a young girl at Goose Fair in Nottingham.
She was introduced to a Mr Sully by her circus friends
Joe and Ally Bert and she set up her easel in the
back of his Rolls Royce. She asked Gypsies of different
ages to pose for her and paid them for sitting.
One old woman dressed up for her in gala attire
- a fine, patterned shawl, a large hat covered with
ostrich plumes, a brooch and long gold earrings
- although she still wears her apron. This lady
was known as 'Granny Smith' and was the subject
of the painting Gypsy Splendour. 'Granny Smith'
invited Laura Knight for a visit to her caravan
on the common at Iver, Buckinghamshire. Knight continued
to paint the Romany people into the 1930s before
moving onto other subject matters.
What do we see in this painting? A woman, sitting
alone, and filling most of the painting. The clothes
she wears are patterned, textured, and in rich colours,
but they don't look new. Perhaps they have been
passed down from previous generations? The woman
wears her long hair in a plait behind her, and she
seems very old and wise. She is at ease with herself:
her head is held high, she looks composed, her hands
are folded neatly across her lap. Her eyes are shining
brightly and we can imagine she has stories to tell,
stories from her life experience of travelling the
world and working in traditional ways. What stories
would she tell?
Behind her we see a wooden caravan painted in traditional
traveller colours. This too looks old, but very
well looked after, like the woman herself. This
is the woman's home and she seems proud to be sitting
outside the caravan, having her portrait painted.
Her home has been travelling with her, for how many
years? Where have they been together, and who has
shared the home with her?
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© Nottingham City Museums
and Galleries. Photo © The National Gallery,
London.
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