Although he began his professional life as a solicitor, Knight was encouraged in his artistic aspirations when two of his paintings were accepted by the annual exhibition of the Society of Artists. He subsequently enrolled at the Royal Academy Schools and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1846 and 1862. He also showed work at Suffolk Street and at the British Institution. He excelled at portrait and genre painting, with many of his works depicting children at play. In Rivals to Blondin Knight has chosen not to portray the sensible, restricted children of the middle and upper classes but poor children who play on the street, happy in their element. He acutely observes facial expressions, gestures and costume, with an inherent sense of the fun of childhood. Many of his works were engraved, including Lost Change and The Counterfeit Coin.
