Biography
Jack Knox (b. 1936, Kirkintilloch, Scotland, UK – d. Dundee, Scotland, UK 2015) studied at Glasgow School of Art, followed by studies in Paris under Cubist André Lhote (1885-1962). In 1965 he joined the staff at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee, and in 1981 became Head of Painting and Drawing at Glasgow School of Art where he worked until his retirement in 1991. While dedicating a large part of his career to teaching, Knox also exhibited, including at the Serpentine Gallery, London (1971), Fruitmarket, Edinburgh (1983) and the Third Eye Centre, Glasgow (1983).
He was a ‘painter of visionary clarity’ who, rather than working directly from life, painted from memory. Knox created scenes that demonstrated a return to academic tradition – carefully perceived and well painted whilst at the same time being slightly surreal and dreamlike, or even tongue-in-cheek. His work was formed by a combination of Scotland’s painterly tradition, European Modernism, Dutch realism and his own eccentric character. Combining his artistic practice with teaching, it was by surrounding himself with students that he managed to continuously energise and invigorate his practice, resulting in work that maintains a vibrancy and a freshness that is lockstep with the contemporary, despite being made over forty years ago.
