Knight became closely involved with the world of ballet during the early 1920s, working backstage and in rehearsal rooms with leading performers from Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Her rapid studies capture not only the elegance of performance but also the discipline, balance and physical effort underlying it. This drawing, most probably dating from that important period, shows a dancer en pointe, her outstretched arms and sweeping skirt conveying both movement and control.

These drawings by Dame Laura Knight were gifted from a private collection for Good Figures in 2015, the inaugural exhibition of Candida Stevens Gallery. Knight was a natural starting point for the gallery: a pioneering woman artist whose independence and determination helped open doors for those who followed. Ranging across dancers, circus performers and animals, the selection reveals her exceptional ability to capture movement, character and theatrical life with remarkably economical lines.