Cynthia Knott

Cynthia Knott (March 20, 1952) is an American painter known for her horizontally-oriented seascapes that recall the "multiforms" of Mark Rothko and the later work of J. M. W. Turner.

Biography

Cynthia Knott received her BA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1971. She went on to earn her BFA at the School of Visual Arts, New York, in 1975 and her MFA at New York University in 1989. Prior to pursuing art, Knott attended Washington University in St. Louis, intending to study Marine Biology.

Knott's study of and artistic interest in the ocean draws upon family history. Her great-grandfather was an Irish sea captain.

Next, Knott prepares the linen surface to receive color with a layer of white gesso.

Billy Collins

Knott is additionally inspired by the poetry of Billy Collins, a close friend. Another poem, "Horizon," which was published in his 2005 poetry collection The Art of Drowning, is also inspired by her work.

Articles

Carmichael, Isabel. “An Alchemist Who Channels the Ineffable,” The East Hampton Star, August 18, 2011, illus. C1, C8 Brandeis, Magdalene. “The Sea and the Sky: Paintings by Cynthia Knott, Poems by Billy Collins,” The Southampton Review, vol. III No. 1, Spring 2009, illus pp. 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29. Norwich, John. “Cynthia Knott Horizonologist,” Hampton Jitney Magazine, vol. 9, Spring 2004 pp. 12–15. Goodman, Jonathan. "Anne Harris and Cynthia Knott at DC Moore." Art in America (February 2003): pp. 117–18. Weil, Rex. "Heaven in Earth." ARTnews (March 1998): pp. 150–152. Wolberg Weiss, Marion. "Honoring the Artist: Cynthia Knott." Dan's Papers (August 4, 1995): pp. 78–79.