The collection is arranged in four series. Series 1: Professional Files, circa 1966-1998 (Box 1; 3 Folders) Series 2: Writings, 1957-1968, undated (Box 1; 0.3 linear feet) Series 3: Printed Material, 1947, 1962-2003, undated (Box 2; 4 Folders) Series 4: Photographic Material, circa 1959-1989 (Box 2; 3 Folders)
Access Note / Rights:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Summary:
The Avel de Knight papers measure 0.6 linear feet and date from 1947 to 2003 with the bulk of the collection dating from 1957 to 1968. The collection includes professional files, writings, printed material, and photographic material.
Citation:
Avel de Knight papers, 1947-2003, bulk 1957-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
Materials lent for microfilming are available on 35mm microfilm reels D388 and N69-111 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Funding:
Funding for the processing of this collection was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.
Related Materials:
Also found in the Archives of American Art is an oral history interview with Avel de Knight conducted by Henri Ghent, 1968. The Archives of American Art also holds microfilm of material lent for microfilming on reels D388 and N69-111. This includes art criticism and Department of State correspondence, letters and certificates of award from the American Watercolor Society, notices of purchase and awards from the National Academy of Design, material from the National Institute of Arts and letters concerning grants, and photographs of de Knight with his work. Loaned materials were returned to the lender and are not described in the collection container inventory.
Biography Note:
Avel C. de Knight (1921-1995) was an African American painter, educator, and art critic. His birth dates are also cited as 1923, 1925, 1931, and 1933. Born in New York to parents from Barbados and Puerto Rico, he attended Pratt Institute before serving in a segregated United States Army unit in World War II. After the war, he studied at the École de Beaux-Arts, the Grand Chaumière, and the Académie Julian in Paris under the G.I. Bill. He returned to the United States in 1956 and in 1957 began reviewing New York exhibitions for France-Amérique . He also taught at the Art Students League and later at the National Academy School of Fine Arts. De Knight was an Academician of the National Academy of Design and his works are held in collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Center, and the University of Richmond Museums.
Language Note:
The collection is in English and French.
Provenance:
Avel de Knight loaned materials for microfilming in 1969. Additional papers were donated to the Archives of American Art in 2003 by Stephen J. and Sunchita F. Tyson, executors of Avel de Knight's estate.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
