Visions Beyond:
The Artistic Legacy Of
Avel De Knight

This site is dedicated to celebrating and advancing the artistic legacy of the late artist, teacher, curator and critic, Avel C. deKnight (1923-1995).

At this site you will find links to information about his life and influences, samples of his works (©), information about collections where his works reside, and how one can select and own the work of this important, though largely unrecognized, American artist. Links to information about previous, current, and future exhibitions featuring the work of Avel C. deKnight will also be posted at this site.

The September, 2001 exhibition organized by the Marsh Art Gallery, of the University of Richmond Museums, in association with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, was the first retrospective of works by Avel de Knight since his death in 1995. Over one hundred works of art, from 1939 to 1994, traced the development and ultimate mastery of this outstanding and provocative American artist.

Included in the exhibition was an unpublished portfolio of illustrations by de Knight, for Army Life in a Black Regiment. Written by Thomas W. Higginson in 1870, this book recounts the story of the first black unit for the Union during the American Civil War. The illustrations, created between 1969 and 1973, were drawn with the same intensity that we find in the artist’s other works. The portfolio of twenty-two works range in size from 7 1/2” x 4 1/4” to 21 5/8” x 29 1/2.” All of the pieces were completed with pen and ink, and ink wash on paper.

After the close of highly successful exhibition at the Marsh Art Gallery, many of Avel de Knight’s paintings and drawings-including those for Army Life in a Black Regiment -- are being circulated through the Commonwealth of Virginia by the Statewide Exhibitions Program Office of Statewide Partnerships, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; funding comes from The Council of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The seventy-two page illustrated catalog developed for the September 2001 retrospective, "Myth And Mirage The Art of Avel deKnight" include essays by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University of Richmond Museums and Stephen J. Tyson, Sr., CO-curator, artist/educator and contact for the estate of Avel C. deKnight. The essays can be found on this website.

Please feel free to make comments or ask questions via e-mail.