Born to a farming family in small-town Saskatchewan, Dorothy Knowles discovered painting through a summer course at Emma Lake in her early 20s, and studied at the University of Saskatchewan, the Banff School of Fine Arts, and Goldsmiths, UK. In 1951, she married painter William Perehudoff and the two traveled in Europe, where Knowles was exposed to Cezanne, Monet and Renoir.

In the early’s 60s, Knowles and Perehudoff participated in the Artists’ Workshop at Emma Lake, working with Clement Greenberg, Kenneth Noland and Lawrence Alloway, among others. Despite the influence of abstraction at the time, Greenberg encouraged Knowles to continue to pursue painting directly from nature. The family purchased a small cabin near Emma Lake in 1969, eventually becoming prominent members of the Saskatchewan arts community.

Knowles exhibited extensively across Canada and internationally, including three national touring exhibitions. Her work was included in the 7th Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting at the National Gallery of Canada (1968), and in14 Canadians: A Critic’s Choice at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. (1977). In 1983, her work was included in Five From Saskatchewan, traveling to London, Paris, and Brussels. She has been awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit (1987), the Order of Canada (2004), the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and the Senate of Canada Sesquicentennial Medal (2017).

Knowles’ works are featured in countless corporate and public collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Mendel Art Gallery, Winnipeg Art Gallery and Boston Museum.

Knowles, Dorothy