Pennsylvania Coal Age Landscape by Charles R. Knight oil on canvas, 1951 Gift of Worthington Scranton, 51.379 Charles R. Knight (1874-1953) was born in Brooklyn, and became known as an artist for his paintings of prehistoric wildlife. He was struck in the eye at age six and left legally blind, but remarkably went on to become world-renowned as a premier sculptor, illustrator and painter of the prehistoric age. After moving to Manhattan, Knight caught the attention of the American Natural History Museum, for whom he would work for most of his career. Charles R. Knight’s mural of prehistoric Northeastern Pennsylvania is exclusive to the Everhart Museum. This large mural of the swamps and wetlands, which once characterized the local area, takes up a wall in our dinosaur collection. It is quite extensive, containing many depictions of extinct species of animals and plants. Painted shortly before his death, this was the last of Charles R. Knight’s great murals. In addition to the mural, the Everhart Museum also has a number of Knight’s lithographs.

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