Karl Knaths studied at the Milwaukee Art Institute, Wisconsin, and the school of the Art Institute of Chicago (1913-18). He spent a year painting railway cars and then, in 1919, moved to Provincetown, Massachusetts, where he lived the rest of his life.
It was in Provincetown that he met Oliver Chaffee and Ambrose Webster, among others, who introduced him to the modernist movements such as Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, and abstract art in general. The subjects he chose for his paintings -- sailboats, fishermen, and beaches -- were taken from the world around him.
Among his awards were the Norman Wait Harris Silver Medal, given by the Art Institute of Chicago; the Boston Tercentenary Fine Arts Medal; two awards from Carnegie Institute International exhibitions; Brandeis University Creative Arts Award; and the National Academy's Carnegie Prize.