LONDON.- Independent researcher and curator Sacha Llewellyn has been awarded the prestigious William MB Berger Prize for British Art History for her book Winifred Knights 1899-1947, published by Lund Humphries in May 2016, in association with The Dulwich Picture Gallery, to coincide with the first major exhibition of Knights’ work, which Sacha Llewellyn also curated.

The Prize was presented by Christopher Le Brun, President of the Royal Academy of Arts, at a reception in London, 30 November 2017. The judges commented: ‘There could not be a better example of how to re-establish a reputation that urgently needed it, a triumph of rehabilitation that will open up a whole group of neglected artists for future study and a tradition that has been “written out”.’ ‘Extraordinary research from scratch.’

This landmark publication provides the first full account of Knights’ life and work, and establishes Knights as one of the most original women artists of the first half of the 20th century. Knights rose to critical acclaim during the four years that she attended the Slade School of Fine Art, from 1915-17 and 1918-20, and was the first British woman to win the Rome Scholarship in decorative painting. The Deluge, 1920, attracted critical acclaim as ‘the work of a genius’.

Drawing on previously unpublished material, including letters, diaries, sketchbooks and photographs, Winifred Knights: 1899 – 1847 reproduces all of Knights’ major works as well as her painstaking preparatory studies, illustrative work and portraits to provide a true insight into her artistic process.

Author Sacha Llewellyn is an independent researcher and curator and Director of Liss Llewellyn Fine Art with a particular interest in British women artists of the interwar years, the Rome Scholars, 1913 – 30, the Art of the First World War and interwar British modernism. Her previous publications include essays on Colin Gill and Knights’ The Deluge in British Murals and Decorative Painting, 1920–60 (2013), Alan Sorrell, The Life and Works of a Neo-Romantic Artist (ed) (2013) and The Great War recorded through the Fine and Popular Arts (ed), (exhibition catalogue, Morley College in association with IWM First World War Centenary, 2014).

The William MB Berger Prize for British Art History is awarded to a scholarly publication that demonstrates outstanding achievement in the field of British Art History. It is recognized as the most prestigious award in its field.