(2018)
Lilac Condominium | Karl Knaths studio.
When 8 Commercial Street was an undivided property, this sweet little building served as the studio of the painter Otto “Karl” Knaths (1891-1971). “His home and studio were the mecca, for over 50 years of his life in Provincetown, of many of the most serious and well-known figures in American painting,” Josephine Del Deo wrote in the Massachusetts Historical Commission Inventory of 1973-1977. However, she added, “The painter pursued a quiet and dedicated painting schedule, broaching no interference.” Well, there was some interference. Ralph Carpenter, proprietor of the abutting Delft Haven, was so angered that Knaths built this structure — thereby blocking Delft Haven views — that he constructed a spite shed just a few feet outside the painter’s north-facing windows. Alix Ritchie and Marty Davis, owners of 8 Commercial Street, substantially renovated this building in 2008. A decade later, its interior was ravaged during the dreadful flooding of January 2018.
For an overview, please see 8 Commercial Street.
¶ Last updated on 22 June 2018.