Robert Henshaw Knott

KNOTT WINSTON-SALEM - Robert Henshaw Knott, Professor Emeritus of Art History at Wake Forest University, died Thursday, February 18, 2010. Bob was born January 16, 1942 in Memphis, TN, the son of John Ray and Wilma Henshaw Knott. He earned an AB in Studio Art at Stanford University, and the Ph D in Art History at the University of Pennsylvania. He came to Wake Forest in 1975, having taught at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He retired from Wake Forest in 2008. For over 30 years at Wake Forest, Bob was involved in the development of the Wake Forest University Student Union Collection of Contemporary Art. This unique program every four years offers selected undergraduate students the opportunity to research contemporary art and, with funds provided by the university, travel to New York City to purchase art reflecting trends in art forms as well as social and political events of their undergraduate years. Bob led many of these trips and always taught the art history course required of students making the trip. For many years, Bob taught collaboratively with colleagues across a range of disciplines, often in the humanities but reaching also to science and most recently to the Business School. He thoroughly enjoyed his students and remained in contact with many over the years, pleased with their successes and honored by their continued friendship. Bob directed semester programs at Wake Forest's overseas campuses, twice at Worrell House in London and once at Casa Artom in Venice, Italy. His book, "American Abstract Art of the 1930s and 1940s: The J. Donald Nichols Collection" appeared in 1998, based on the exhibition he curated. In 1992, he curated an exhibition of self-taught African American artists and wrote the catalogue, Diving in the Spirit. A longtime photographer, he produced a group of pictures entitled "Hung Up, Venice Laundry Series," which was exhibited in the Hanes Fine Arts Gallery in October 2004 and at the Fondazione Culturale Spiazzi in Venice in May 2005. In February and March 2008, an exhibition, accompanied by a catalogue, "Robert Knott: Sculpture / Drawings/ Photographs, 1980-2008" filled the Hanes Gallery. Bob excelled in sports and from childhood was a near par golfer. He played many musical instruments and delighted in joining friends in making music. His real passion was his love of family and most especially he loved his four granddaughters, close in age and full of fun. Bob is survived by his wife Elen; daughter, Sara Knott Nichols and her husband, Bucky Nichols and their twin daughters, Ella Read Nichols and Daisy Hughes Nichols; and by his daughter, Hannah Knott Rogers, and her husband, Thomas D. Rogers and their daughters, Dinah MacNeill Rogers and Juno Augustine Rogers. He is also survived by his brother, John Ray Knott Jr. and family. A gathering for friends and family will be held at Salem Funerals and Cremations, 120 South Main Street, Winston- Salem, on Saturday, February 20, from 2 until 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Student Union Contemporary Art Collection Endowment Fund, Development Office, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, 27106. Online condolences may be made through www.salemfh.com.