Dorothy Knowles, one of Canada’s most renowned landscape artists, was born in 1927 in Unity, Saskatchewan. Initially studying biology at the University of Saskatchewan, Knowles was later encouraged by a friend to take her first summer art course at Emma Lake in 1948. She became heavily involved with the now famous workshops in the 1950’s, along with her husband and fellow artist, William Perehudoff.

In the early 1960s, these workshops led Knowles to meet famed art critic Clement Greenberg, who encouraged her to paint nature and landscapes, rather than to pursue abstract painting. She studied in 1952 at Banff School of Fine Arts and at the Goldsmith School of Art in London, England.

Knowles’ work has been exhibited at established galleries and museums including the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, Remai Modern in Saskatoon, Edmonton Art Gallery (now the Art Gallery of Alberta) and the Hirshhorn Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1983, her work was part of a group exhibition called “Five From Saskatchewan” that traveled to London, Paris, and Brussels.

Major corporate and public collections that hold Dorothy Knowles works include the National Gallery of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Musée d’art contemporain of Montreal, Mendel Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Alberta, and the Boston Museum. She had numerous honours and awards, including being selected for a Canada Postage Stamps in 1987, being made a member of the Order of Canada in 2004, and receiving the Centennial Medal of Saskatchewan in 2005.