HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Charles Robert Leslie (19 October 1794 – 5 May 1859) was an English
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...
painter.


Biography

Leslie was born in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to American parents. When he was five years of age he returned with them to the United States, where they settled in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
. Leslie completed his education and afterwards became apprenticed to a bookseller. He was, however, mainly interested in painting and drama, and when
George Frederick Cooke George Frederick Cooke (17 April 1756 in London – 26 September 1812 in New York City) was an England, English actor. As famous for his erratic habits as for his acting, he was largely responsible for initiating the romantic style in acting t ...
visited the city he executed a portrait of the actor from recollection of him on the stage, which was considered a work of such promise that a fund was raised to enable the young artist to study in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. He left for London in 1811, bearing introductions which procured for him the friendship of
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, Beechey,
Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part ...
,
Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...
and
Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...
, being admitted as a student of the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
, where he carried off two silver medals. At first, influenced by West and Fuseli, he essayed high art, and his earliest important subject depicted
Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...
and the
Witch of Endor The Witch of Endor ( he, ''baʿălaṯ-ʾōḇ bəʿĒyn Dōr'', "she who owns the ''ʾōḇ'' of Endor") is a woman who, according to the Hebrew Bible, was consulted by Saul to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel. Saul wished to receive ad ...
; but he soon discovered his true aptitude and became a painter of cabinet-pictures, dealing, not like those of
David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to: * David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter * David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist * David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer * David ...
, with the contemporary life that surrounded him, but with scenes from the great masters of fiction, from
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and
Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
,
Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario United States *Addison, Alabama *Addison, Illinois *Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field * Addison, Kentucky *Addison, Maine *Addison, Michigan *Addison, New York ...
and
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
,
Swift Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, ...
, Sterne, Fielding and
Smollett Smollett is an English and Scots surname, originally meaning ''small head''. Notable people with the surname include: Individuals * Jake Smollett (born 1989), American actor * Jurnee Smollett (born 1986), American actress * Jussie Smollett (b ...
. In 1821, Leslie was elected an
Associate of the Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
, and five years later full
Royal Academician The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
. In 1827 he was elected into the
National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...
as an Honorary Academician. In 1833, he left for America to become teacher of drawing in the military academy at
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, but the post proved an irksome one, and in some six months he returned to England. He was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1837. He died 5 May 1859 and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. Leslie was the brother of American author
Eliza Leslie Eliza Leslie (1787–1858), frequently referred to as Miss Leslie, was an American author of popular cookbooks during the nineteenth century. She also wrote household management books, etiquette books, novels, short stories and articles for magazin ...
and
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
soldier Thomas Jefferson Leslie. In April 1825 he married Harriet Honor Stone with whom he had six children. Their second son Sir
Bradford Leslie Sir Bradford Leslie KCIE (1831-1926) was an English civil engineer who specialised in bridges and was a pupil of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. His most notable achievement was the 1887 Jubilee Bridge. Early life Leslie was born in London on 18 Au ...
was a noted bridge builder, and their youngest son,
George Dunlop Leslie George Dunlop Leslie (London 2 July 1835 – 21 February 1921 Lindfield, Sussex) was a British genre painter, author and illustrator. Life and work Leslie was born into an artistic family, his father was the notable genre painter Charles ...
RA (1835–1921) a notable artist. He is buried in
Kensal Green Cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery is a cemetery in the Kensal Green area of Queens Park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. Inspired by Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, it was founded by the barrister George Frederic ...
.


Works

Individual paintings of note include: *''Sir Roger de Coverley going to Church'' (1819) *''Londoners Gypsying'' (1820) *''May-day in the Time of Queen Elizabeth'' (1821) *''Portrait of a Gentleman'' (1823) *''Sancho Panza and the Duchess'' (1824) *''Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman'' (1831) *''
Le Malade Imaginaire ''The Imaginary Invalid'', ''The Hypochondriac'', or ''The Would-Be Invalid'' ( French title ''Le Malade imaginaire'', ) is a three- act ''comédie-ballet'' by the French playwright Molière with dance sequences and musical interludes (H.495, H. ...
'', act iii. sc. 6 (1843) *''Our Saviour Teaching his Disciples a Lesson Humility'' (1844) *''The Pharisee and the Publican'' (1847) *''The Reading Lesson from an Etching by Raffaelle'' (1848) *''Duke's Chaplain Enraged leaving the Table'', from ''
Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'' (1849) *''Martha and Mary'' (1849) *''The Mother's Return to her Child'' (1849) Several works were commissioned and bought by James Lenox. Those works were on display in the Lenox Library, which upon demolition, were donated to the New York Public Library. Many of his more important subjects exist in varying replicas. Leslie possessed a sympathetic imagination, which enabled him to enter freely into the spirit of the author whom he illustrated, a delicate perception for female beauty, an unfailing eye for character and its outward manifestation in face and figure, and a genial and sunny sense of humour, guided by an instinctive refinement which prevented it from overstepping the bounds of good taste. In addition to his skill as an artist, Leslie was a ready and pleasant writer. His ''Life'' of his friend Constable, the landscape painter, appeared in 1843 is regarded as one of the classics of artistic biography. He also wrote a ''Handbook for Young Painters'', a volume embodying the substance of his lectures as professor of painting to the Royal Academy, in 1855. In 1860, Tom Taylor edited his ''Autobiography and Letters'', which contain interesting reminiscences of his distinguished friends and contemporaries. Leslie's letters paint the man as affectionate, social, candid, modest and eager for instruction and improvement, always seeking the society of the best and most eminent of persons to whom he could gain access without intrusion or forwardness.''Autobiographical Recollections of C. R. Leslie with Selections from his correspondence'' Ed. Tom Taylor, Ticknor & Fields, Boston 1860 Taylor also finished Leslie's ''Life and Times of Sir Joshua Reynolds'', which was published in 1865. The painting ''May-day in the Time of Queen Elizabeth'' is examined in
Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...
's poem ''On May Day'', as part of her Poetical Catalogue of Paintings in The Literary Gazette (1823).


Notes


Writings

*''Memoirs of the Life of John Constable'' ed C.R.Leslie 1843, Chapman & Hall, London 1896 *''Life and Times of Sir Joshua Reynolds, with Notices of Some of his Contemporaries'' ed
Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...
, John Murray, London 1865 * ''Handbook for Young Painters'' ( with illustrations),John Murray, London 1855 *''Autobiographical Recollections of C. R. Leslie with Selections from his correspondence'' Ed.
Tom Taylor Tom Taylor (19 October 1817 – 12 July 1880) was an English dramatist, critic, biographer, public servant, and editor of ''Punch'' magazine. Taylor had a brief academic career, holding the professorship of English literature and language a ...
, Ticknor & Fields, Boston 1860


References

* *


External links

* *
At Internet Archiveat Internet Archive
*

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Charles Robert 19th-century English painters English male painters British genre painters 1794 births 1859 deaths British biographers British autobiographers British people of American descent British emigrants to the United States Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Royal Academicians 19th-century English male artists