Conrad Heighton Leigh (born 1883) was an English artist, illustrator and member of Brighton Arts Club.
Life and work
Conrad Leigh was born in
Brighton, Sussex on 27 May 1883.
[Dictionary of British Artists Working 1900-1950] His father was Thomas Leigh M.R.C.P.S., L.R.C.P. a surgeon.
[Who's Who in Art (Third Edition: 1934)] He attended Rostellan House School, Brighton and the Old Brighton Grammar School before studying at the
Brighton school of art
Founded as the Brighton School of Art in 1859, the University of Brighton School of Art and Media is an organisational part of the University of Brighton, with courses in the creative arts, visual communication, media, craft and fashion and textil ...
(much later merged into
Brighton University
The University of Brighton is a public university based on four campuses in Brighton and Eastbourne on the south coast of England. Its roots can be traced back to 1858 when the Brighton School of Art was opened in the Royal Pavilion. It achieve ...
) under William H. Bond (1861–1918)
He went on to study at the
Slade School of Art
The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...
in London and the
Académie Julian in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
He is particularly well known for his sporting and military subjects, many of which were used as illustrations for books, periodicals and popular
postcards
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
in the early half of the 20th century. His work featured regularly in the
Strand Magazine, The
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
, Wide World and the
Windsor Magazine
''The Windsor Magazine'' was a monthly illustrated publication produced by Ward Lock & Co from January 1895 to September 1939 (537 issues).
The title page described it as "An Illustrated Monthly for Men and Women".
It was bound as six-monthly ...
.
During the first decade of the 20th century Conrad Leigh was commissioned to paint a panel for the luncheon room at the Hall of the Carpenters' Company in London Wall, a livery company of the City of London. The hall was completely burnt out during an air raid of 10 May 1941, when a gas main in London wall ignited, however most of the pictures survived.
Third Hall – Carpenters Company
In 1915 Leigh was commissioned by the wallpaper manufacturers John Gilkes and Sons to provide designs for their wallpaper range and additionally designed their celebrated promotion poster in 1920 which has been reproduced and is retailed by many modern print and poster stores. The original period 1920 printing is highly sought after and exchanges hands for hundreds of pounds sterling. A further celebrated poster was designed by Leigh for the Brighton Carnival (24 June to 1 July c.1920s, actual year is unknown), again this poster has been recently reproduced and retailed in print and poster stores. Conrad Leigh worked at 68 Grand Parade, Brighton, now the site of the Brighton University The Faculty of Arts and Architecture. The date and place of his death is unknown, however a search on freebmd.org.uk shows
in Deaths Mar 1958 LEIGH Conrad H 74 Brighton 5h144
Collections
Brighton University (Aldrich Collection); Hull Museums Collections.
Partial bibliography
Illustrations for Books:
*''The Young Buglers: A Tale of the Peninsular War'' (1910) (written by George Alfred Henty
George Alfred Henty (8 December 1832 – 16 November 1902) was an English novelist and war correspondent. He is most well-known for his works of adventure fiction and historical fiction, including ''The Dragon & The Raven'' (1886), ''For The ...
)Olive Schreiner
Olive Schreiner (24 March 1855 – 11 December 1920) was a South African author, anti-war campaigner and intellectual. She is best remembered today for her novel ''The Story of an African Farm'' (1883), which has been highly acclaimed. It deal ...
)
*''John Gilkes and Sons Wallpapers and Decorations'' (1915) (pub. J.J. Keliher, London)
Illustrations for Postcards:
*''Coldstream Guards, Bank of England Picket'' (Published by Valentine & Sons Ltd)
*''Regimental Pipe Band, The Black Watch'' (Published by Valentine & Sons Ltd)
*''Royal Horse Guards, Changing of the Guard'' (Published by Valentine & Sons Ltd)
*''The Life Guards, The Drummer and Band in State Dress'' (Published by Valentine & Sons Ltd)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Conrad Heighton
20th-century English painters
English male painters
1883 births
English illustrators
Year of death missing
British children's book illustrators
20th-century English male artists