Guy John Fenton Knowles (1879–1959) was an engineer, an art collector and a benefactor of several museum collections. He was also a member of the expedition which made the first serious attempt to climb K2, the second-highest mountain in the World. Guy Knowles was the son of Charles Julius Kino, a wealthy

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n-born wool merchant and hotel proprietor who was a friend and patron of

Alphonse Legros Alphonse Legros (; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist. He moved to London in 1863 and later was naturalized as British. He was important as a teacher in the British etching ...

and also knew

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

, Kino changed his name to Knowles in the 1880s. As a boy Guy Knowles was allowed to play with clay in Rodin's studio. Knowles was educated at

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Cambridge, and took a Second Class in Pt. I of the Mechanical Sciences

Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...

in 1901. Knowles's father died in 1900, whilst Guy was at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, and left him a considerable inheritance. In 1904, he and Lucien Legros, the son of the artist

, started a motor vehicle company: Legros & Knowles Ltd in Cumberland Park, Willesden Junction,

Willesden Willesden () is an area of north-west London, situated 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Charing Cross. It is historically a parish in the county of Middlesex that was incorporated as the Municipal Borough of Willesden in 1933; it has formed ...

. Knowles purportedly provided a considerable portion of the company's finances. The two later established the Iris Car Company.

Mountaineering

For a number of years, Knowles climbed in the

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

, in 1898 he was climbing there in the company of

Oscar Eckenstein Oscar Johannes Ludwig Eckenstein (9 September 1859 – 8 April 1921) was an English rock climber and mountaineer, and a pioneer in the sport of bouldering. Inventor of the modern crampon, he was an innovator in climbing technique and mountai ...

. In 1902 Eckenstein led an expedition making the first serious attempt to climb K2. Knowles was a member of that party and reportedly financed most of the expedition's costs. At one point on the expedition

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

, another expedition member, threatened Knowles with a revolver and had to be forcibly disarmed, Knowles kept the revolver until the end of his life in 1959. Although he never climbed again in the

Greater Ranges The Roof of the World or Top of the World is a metaphoric epithet or phrase used to describe the highest region in the world, also known as High Asia. The term usually refers to the mountainous interior of Asia, including the Pamirs, the Himalay ...

he did make further climbing trips to the Swiss Alps and was there with Eckenstein in 1904.

War service

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Knowles served in the

Royal Garrison Artillery The Royal Garrison Artillery (RGA) was formed in 1899 as a distinct arm of the British Army's Royal Artillery, Royal Regiment of Artillery serving alongside the other two arms of the Regiment, the Royal Field Artillery (RFA) and the Royal Horse ...

, reaching the rank of Captain. He was twice mentioned in despatches and was awarded the French

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

and the Greek Military Cross.

Art bequests

In his later years, Knowles lived in "''a house full of treasures''", which included a

Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French people, French Impressionism, Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, Print ...

bronze, two Rodins, ten

Whistlers Whistler may refer to: * Someone who whistles Places Canada * Whistler, British Columbia, a resort town ** Whistler railway station ** Whistler Secondary School * Whistler Blackcomb, a ski resort in British Columbia * Whistler Mountain, Bri ...

, and a magnificent

Guardi Francesco Lazzaro Guardi (; 5 October 1712 – 1 January 1793) was an Italian painter, nobleman, and a member of the Venetian School. He is considered to be among the last practitioners, along with his brothers, of the classic Venetian school of ...

sketch — apparently his father had bought the Guardi and a

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

sketch for 12s 6d each in the 1880s. In his will he left to the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

what was described as "''a remarkable collection of paintings, drawings, bronzes and miscellaneous works of art''", and he is regarded as a major donor of the Fitzwilliam's Whistler collection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, Guy 1879 births 1959 deaths People educated at Rugby School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British Army personnel of World War I English mountain climbers English art collectors 20th-century art collectors British automobile designers British founders of automobile manufacturers