A Cottage in Spring, Normandy

Not unlike his father, Daniel Ridgway Knight, Louis Aston Knight had the exceptional privilege of enjoying the rewards of his popularity as well as financial achievements during his lifetime. The 27 year old artist was on a fast track to establishing a successful name for himself. He received a bronze medal in 1900 at the Paris World Fair, followed by an honorable mention at the Paris Salon of 1901. His success at the Paris Salon was followed by numerous medals of honor at Rheims, Cherbourg, Lyons, Geneva and Nantes. Finally in 1905 he was awarded the third gold medal at the Paris Salon followed by the second gold medal in 1906 - the highest level of achievement for a non-French artist.

Between his marriage to Caroline Ridgway Brewster in 1907 and the outbreak of the First World War, the Knight family moved to Normandy. During this time Knight favored painting thatched cottages and flowers beside the flowing streams of his Normandy home. These works, much sought after by American collectors, sold readily, greatly contributing to his financial security. During the following decade Knight would be inspired by the gardens of Monet and hence, would create a pastoral legacy in Normandy that he would name Diana's Cottage. Aston Knight's river scenes of France achieved further popularity in the United States after President Harding purchased The Afterglow for the White House.