Collecting ARCHIBALD KNOX

As a new exhibition opens on the Isle of Man – along with a series of talks, tours and trails – Emma Longstaff explores the designer's work and discovers that his oeuvre is more expansive than often presumed

- Emma Longstaff

Designers are sometimes inseparable from places. Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Glasgow, Antoni Gaudí and Barcelona. Archibald Knox should be synonymous with the Isle of Man, but the connection is too often forgotten, thinks Chris Hobdell, founder of the Archibald Knox Forum. 'He was born in 1864 and lived on the island for most of his life until his death in 1933. His designs are so strongly influenced by the unique Manx landscape, history, culture and spirit, you really can’t understand Knox without the Isle of Man. But people tend to think of Knox as just a Liberty designer, even though his time working for the London retailer was relatively brief.’