MONIQUE KNOWLTON

KNOWLTON--Monique. Monique Knowlton, art dealer, avid collector and VOGUE cover model. Monique (nee Monica Graebener) was born in 1937, in Karlsruhe, Germany and died peacefully at home in New York City on October 8, 2024 after a long battle with breast cancer. Monique's early years were shaped by the turmoil of WWII, but she emerged resilient and determined. At just 17, she moved to Paris, where she married and started a modeling career under her new name, Monique Chevalier. From the 1950s to the 1960s, Monique appeared on dozens of international magazine covers, such as VOGUE, Elle, and Glamour, eventually becoming one of Glamour's first 'models of the year.' Her career flourished, working with renowned photographers like Irving Penn, Richard Avedon and Karen Radkai. She is perhaps best known for her work with Bert Stern and the hairdresser Kenneth. (Years later, Monique would team up with Stern again, hosting one of his first photography exhibitions at her art gallery). As one of her fans wrote, "The key to Monique Chevalier's long, successful modeling career lay in her ability to be anyone, from anywhere; All- American girl-next-door or haughty grande dame, ice queen or playful ingenue...every picture she took came stamped with an imperiously confident gaze." Eileen Ford recognized Monique's talent and recruited her to the Ford Modeling Agency, helping her move to New York at the age of 25. Monique's passion for art led her to open the Monique Knowlton Gallery in New York City during the vibrant 1970s art scene, where she championed emerging artists, including the Betye Saar. Her commitment to showing women artists earned her recognition on the Guerilla Girls "Hit List" for 1981-82. The New York Times praised the gallery many times, once describing it as "a hospitable haven, in which to be outrageous counts as a plus," in a 1971 review of her show "Invitational: New in New York." In the 1990s she re-opened in Soho. She would often say that in art, 'it must be different before it can be good.' Beyond her career, Monique was an avid collector with a discerning eye. Her collections ranged from antique quilts and mid-century Italian glass to contemporary photography and rare antique toys, eventually becoming one of the largest private toy collectors. Monique is preceded in death by her two eldest daughters, Kathy and Stephanie. She is survived by her children Emily Hunsicker, Will Sterns, Stefan Sterns, and Olivia Walton, as well as her nine beloved grandchildren, all of whom brought her immense joy. Monique always gave generously, sponsoring dozens of children from Appalachia to South America to Sudan, sending birthday and Christmas gifts, and often corresponding with those she sponsored for years into adulthood. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations to Doctors Without Borders, reflecting Monique's compassionate spirit and global outlook.