Dorothy Knowles occupies an important place in the history of landscape painting. Working for more than seven decades in the male-dominated post-war environment of Canadian painting, she developed a sustained examination of the prairie and parkland regions of Western Canada, producing paintings distinguished by their close observation of light, atmosphere, and seasonal change. Although her work emerged alongside the formal concerns of post-war modernism, Knowles remained committed to direct engagement with the landscape, shaping a body of work that bridged observational painting and colour field painting. After studying at the University of Saskatchewan, Knowles continued her education at Goldsmiths School of Art in London, England, before marrying William Perehudoff in Paris in 1951. An important turning point in her career came at the 1962 Emma Lake Artists' Workshop in northern Saskatchewan, where the critic Clement Greenberg encouraged her to remain committed to landscape painting at a time when hard-edge abstraction occupied a central place in modernist criticism. Knowles later worked alongside Kenneth Noland, whom influenced her approach towards applying paint in thin veils of shimmering hues. Over the following decades, Knowles developed a painterly approach grounded in established compositional traditions while informed by the direct observation and fluid handling associated with plein air painting. Her work reflected a sustained engagement with the landscapes of Western Canada, where she was born and spent most of her life, exploring the formal possibilities of colour, light, and spatial relationships through close attention to the particularities of place. Nikola Rukaj Gallery is pleased to represent the Dorothy Knowles Estate. Knowles received numerous honours in recognition of her contributions to Canadian art. Her work was included in the National Gallery of Canada's 7th Biennial Exhibition of Canadian Painting (1968), affirming her place within the national art landscape. In 1977, her work was selected for the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden's exhibition 14 Canadians: A Critic's Choice, organized by the Smithsonian Institution. She was subsequently represented in Five From Saskatchewan (1983), a traveling exhibition that toured London, Paris, and Brussels, She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2004, received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 1987, was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, and received the Canada 150 Medal in 2017. Her work entered the collections of major public institutions in Canada and the United States, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, National Gallery of Canada, the Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Art Gallery of Alberta, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Vancouver Art Gallery, The McMichael Canadian Art Collection, The Glenbow Museum, Kamloops Art Gallery, Portland Art Museum, and the Winnipeg Art Gallery, among others. In 2010, the McMichael mounted a solo exhibition titled Land Marks, which travelled to the Moose Jaw Museum. In 2018, the Remai Modern also mounted a major retrospective of her work. Nikola Rukaj Gallery is pleased to represent the Dorothy Knowles Estate.

Works

The River
The River
1986
Pink Twilight Pink Twilight
Pink Twilight
1986
Wind on the River
Wind on the River
1965
Lake Through Trees
Lake Through Trees
1963
Reflected Clouds
Reflected Clouds
1964
River Reflected River Reflected
River Reflected
1990
Big Sky Big Sky
Big Sky
1984
Emma Lake and the Yellow Balloons
Emma Lake and the Yellow Balloons
1983
Water by the Forest Water by the Forest Water by the Forest Water by the Forest Water by the Forest Water by the Forest
Water by the Forest
1990
Bleak April Bleak April Bleak April Bleak April Bleak April Bleak April Bleak April Bleak April
Bleak April
1989
Crocus
Crocus
1986
Dark Woods
Dark Woods
2004
Green Water Orange Trees
Green Water Orange Trees
1994
Grey Sky
Grey Sky
1986
Kananaski Series #3
Kananaski Series #3
1991
Light Blue Day
Light Blue Day
1993
Road to Nowhere
Road to Nowhere
1988
Sand Bar
Sand Bar
1996
The Bugaboos
The Bugaboos
1987
Late November
Late November
2018
Edge of the Slough
Edge of the Slough
2019
Stream Between PA and Emma Lake
Stream Between PA and Emma Lake
2020
Wild Sky
Wild Sky
2019

Exhibitions

Big Sky
October 8, 2026 - November 5, 2026
Big Sky

Publications

Fairs

The Armory Show
Javits Center 655 W 34th Street
September 24 - September 27, 2026
Booth 202
The Armory Show
Art Palm Beach
Palm Beach County Convention Center
January 28 - February 1, 2027
Booth 102
Art Palm Beach
Art Toronto
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
October 29 - November 1, 2026
Booth 100
Art Toronto

Public Collections

Art Gallery of Alberta, Canada
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Canada
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Canada
Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada
Art Gallery of Peterborough, Canada
Art Gallery of Windsor, Canada
Bank of Canada, Canada
Bank of Commerce, Canada
Bank of Montreal, Canada
Canada Council Art Bank, Canada
Confederation Centre of the Arts, Canada
Concordia University, Canada
Edmonton Art Gallery, Canada
Glenbow Museum, Canada
Hart House, University of Toronto, Canada
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, United States
Kamloops Art Gallery, Canada
Kenderdine Gallery, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, Canada
MacKenzie Art Gallery, Canada
Mendel Art Gallery Collection, Canada
Moose Jaw Museum & Art Gallery, Canada
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Canada
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, United States
National Gallery of Canada, Canada
Nutana Collegiate, Canada
Portland Art Museum, United States
Rideau Hall, Canada
Royal Bank of Canada, Canada
Saskatchewan Arts Board Permanent Collection, Canada
Toronto-Dominion Bank, Canada
University of Alberta, Canada
University of Calgary, Canada
University of Regina, Canada
University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Vancouver Art Gallery, Canada
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Canada