In a Normandy Garden

Ridgway Knight, as an academically trained artist, would have produced many preparatory drawings prior to advancing further on a design. As he would have done so in n the Normandy Garden - a composition so carefully worked and beautifully animated. Ridway Knight was also known to have purchased clothing from nearby villagers to dress his models with, in order to make them appear as authentic as possible. he had a genuine relationship with the neighboring peasants and picked his models from amongst them. As George Sheldon explains: 'throughout Normandy, he [was] a familiar figure in the field and in the cottage. A hundred times he has been called upon to act as godfather to the children of his models and, whenever one of them gets married, she [was] sure to receive from Mr. Knight a handsome present in gold. His habit in this regard [was] well known among them, and he [was] abole to choose his models - and how charming they are! - from a class which usually [was] not willing to serve in such a capacity.' (G. Sheldon, Recent Ideals of American Art, New York and London, 1889, p. 27.)

We are grateful to Howard L. Rehs for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.

Howard L. Rehs will include this work in his forthcoming Daniel Ridgway Knight catalogue raisonné.