author

Ernest Knaufft

b. 1864

A teacher, editor, and working artist, he helped shape how drawing was taught for print in the late 19th century. His best-known book brings together practical advice on illustration, design, and typography in a way that still feels hands-on.

1 Audiobook

Drawing for Printers.

Drawing for Printers.

by Ernest Knaufft

About the author

Born in 1864, Ernest Knaufft built a career around both making art and teaching it. Sources identify him as an American artist, and the National Gallery of Art lists his lifespan as 1864–1942.

Knaufft is especially associated with art instruction. A biographical note in the Jane Addams Digital Edition says he studied at the Art Students League and later served as an assistant in graphics and free-hand drawing at Princeton University. That same source also describes him as a longtime director of the Chautauqua Society of Fine Arts.

He is best remembered by many readers for Drawing for Printers (1899), a practical guide to designing and illustrating for print. The book itself presents him as editor of The Art Student and director of the Chautauqua Society of Fine Arts, showing how closely his writing was tied to teaching artists and designers.