early life and struggles Charles Robert Knight (1874-1953) was an american artist, born on october 21, 1874, in brooklyn, new york. His life was marked by physical hardships, including severe nearsightedness and a childhood accident that left him with partial blindness in his right eye. This condition worsened over time, leaving him legally blind by the end of his career—a significant impediment to artistic endeavors but also a catalys…