Knight, an almost insatiable consumer of literature, was fascinated by various artistic genres- including dance, music, and studio art.

A former student of Lois Mailou Jones and James Lesesne Wells, Knight who attended Howard University, faced the harsh economic hardships of the Great Depression. She was forced her to leave Howard in her second year of college. Undaunted by this experience, Knight returned to Harlem where she studied painting and sculpture with Augusta Savage. During this time, Knight also served as an artist for the Works Progress Administration's mural project. It was an opportune moment for Knight to be in the midst of artists and activists such as Romare Bearden and Aaron Douglas during the Harlem Renaissance. As fate would have it, through those affiliations, Knight met her soon-to-be husband Jacob Lawrence whom she was married to for 70 years.

As an artist, Knight was drawn to more “traditional” figurative and classical imagery as opposed to modernist tendencies like abstraction, Cubism, and other Expressionist styles that some of her contemporaries embraced. However, Knight mastered creating vibrantly hued compositions that highlighted her sense of lyricism and her interests in dance. She is also known to have flirted with West African inspired traditions and portraits. Toward the end of her career, Knight’s work became more improvisational, as reflected by her “quick, lyrical sketches rendered as etchings and monoprints.”

She found inspiration for her work in places like New Orleans. Knight and Lawrence fondly remembered their visits to the city; during the early days of their marriage, they lived briefly in the “Crescent City.” In fact, New Orleans is said to have reminded Knight of her home in Barbados. Though Lawrence’s career seemed to outpace hers, Knight continually pursued artistic interests--studying dance with members of Martha Graham’s company.

In 1971, the couple settled in Seattle when Lawrence was offered a teaching position at the University of Washington School of Art. The lived in Washington (state) for at least thirty years. In the years before her death, Knight saw a resurgence of patronage toward her work. Her first solo exhibition was hosted by the Seattle Art Museum and was followed by other exhibitions of her work in New York, Georgia, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. In addition, major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, began collecting Knight’s work.