Medal awarded to Derbyshire artist Dame Laura Knight sells at auction

The medal is engraved with the artist's maiden name Johnson

A medal awarded to one of Britain's most celebrated artists has been sold at auction.

The silver medal was presented to Dame Laura Knight in 1894 in recognition of her work.

Auctioneers said the engraved medal, bearing her maiden name Johnson, had fetched £850.

The artist was born in Long Eaton, in Derbyshire, in 1877 and was raised in Nottingham.

Dame Laura Knight received the medial in 1894

The medal, part of a private collection, was presented to her by the Science and Art Department of the South Kensington Museum, now London's V&A Museum.

It was predicted to fetch between £500 and £800 and was auctioned by Nottingham-based Arthur Johnson and Sons.

The medal recognised Laura Knight's work at a time when the art world was dominated by men

The company's marketing manager Keith Butler said: "This is a really interesting piece.

"Dame Laura Knight was creating brilliant art at a time when that sphere was dominated by men. She was a genuine trailblazer.

"She's considered to be one of the great impressionist painters but she worked in such a vast array of styles.

"She was a prominent war artist. Her painting of the Nuremberg Trial was particularly striking.

Dame Laura, who married fellow artist Harold Knight in 1903, was only the second woman to be elected as a full member of The Royal Society in 1936.