Edmund Blair Leighton (21 September 18521 September 1922) was an English painter of historical genre scenes, specialising in
Regency
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
and
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
subjects. His art is associated with the
pre-Raphaelite movement
The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, James ...
of the mid-to-late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Biography
Leighton was the son of the artist
Charles Blair Leighton (1823–1855) and Caroline Leighton (née Boosey). He was educated at
University College School
("Slowly but surely")
, established =
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, leaving at 15 to work for a tea merchant. Wishing to study art, he went to evening classes in South Kensington and then to Heatherley's School in Newman Street, London. Aged 21, he entered the
Royal Academy Schools. Among his first commissions were monochrome illustrations for ''
Cassell's Magazine
''Cassell's Magazine'' is a British magazine that was published monthly from 1897 to 1912. It was the successor to ''Cassell's Illustrated Family Paper'', (1853–1867) becoming ''Cassell's Family Magazine'' in 1874, ''Cassell's Magazine'' in 1897 ...
'' and its ''Book of British Ballads''. His first painting to be exhibited at the Royal Academy was ''A Flaw in the Title'' in 1874; it sold for £200. He soon gave up "black and white" illustrations, working for the rest of his career in oil on canvas. He married Katherine Nash in 1885; they had a son, the painter E. J. Blair Leighton, and a daughter. He exhibited annually at the Royal Academy until 1920.
Leighton was a fastidious craftsman, producing highly finished, decorative historical paintings. These were romanticised scenes, often of chivalry and women in medieval dress with a popular appeal.
It would appear that he left no diaries, and though he exhibited at the Royal Academy for over forty years, he was never an Academician or an Associate.
Works
File:Edmund Blair Leighton - Old Times.jpg, ''Old Times'' (1877)
File:Leighton-Till Death Do Us Part-1878.jpg, ''Till Death Do Us Part'' (1878)
File:Edmund Blair Leighton - Abelard and his Pupil Heloise.jpg, ''Abelard
Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a Middle Ages, medieval French Scholasticism, scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This ...
and his Pupil Heloise'' (1882)legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
)Alain Chartier
Alain Chartier (1430) was a French poet and political writer.
Life
Alain Chartier was born in Bayeux to a family marked by considerable ability. His eldest brother Guillaume became bishop of Paris; and Thomas became notary to the king. Jean ...
'' (1903)
File:Edmund Blair Leighton - Courtship.jpg, ''Courtship by the Piano'' (1903)
File:Edmund Blair Leighton - Ribbons and Lace.jpg, ''Ribbons and Laces for Very Pretty Faces'' (1904)
File:Edmund Blair Leighton-To the Land Unknown-1911.tif, ''To the Land Unknown'' (1911)
File:Leighton-Stitching the Standard.jpg, ''Stitching the Standard'' (1911)[The painting was named as "Preparing the Flag" at Christies in 1928, and as "Awaiting his Return" at Philips in 1977. Sotheby's called it "Stitching the Standard" in 1978. It may be the painting catalogued as "The Device" in 1911. ]
File:The Boyhood of Alfred the Great (1913).jpg, ''The Boyhood of Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bo ...
(1913)''
File:Edmund Blair Leighton - My fair Lady.jpg, ''My Fair Lady'' (1914)
File:Elisabet av Thüringen.jpg, ''The Charity of Elisabeth of Hungary'' (1915)
File:Edmund Blair Leighton - The Hostage.jpg, The Hostage (1912)
Among Leighton's other works are:
* ''Un Gage d'Amour'' (1881),
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki
Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand. It has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand and frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions.
Set be ...
.
* ''Conquest'' (1884)
* ''The Rehearsal'' (1888),
Croydon Clocktower
Croydon Clocktower is an arts and museum complex located on Katharine Street in Croydon, London.
History
The venue, which forms part of the 19th-century Town Hall, was opened as an arts and museum complex by Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabe ...
, UK.
[Listed a]
Bridgeman Art Library
.
*''How Liza Loved the King'' (1890),
Towneley Hall Art Gallery and Museum, Burnley.
* ''Waiting for the Coach'' (1895),
Manchester Art Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three ...
.
*''
On the Threshold'' (1900), Manchester Art Gallery.
*''
The Accolade'' (1901), private collection.
*''Adieu'' (1901), Manchester Art Gallery.
*''
The Shadow
The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...
'' (1909),
City Hall, Cardiff
City Hall ( cy, Neuadd y ddinas) is a civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales, UK. It serves as Cardiff's centre of local government. It was built as part of the Cathays Park civic centre development and opened in October 1906. Built of ...
*''A Nibble'' (1914), private collection.
*''An Arrival'' (1916),
City Hall, Cardiff
City Hall ( cy, Neuadd y ddinas) is a civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales, UK. It serves as Cardiff's centre of local government. It was built as part of the Cathays Park civic centre development and opened in October 1906. Built of ...
*''The Lord of Burleigh, Tennyson'' (1919), private collection.
*''Sweet Solitude'' (1919), private collection.
*''After Service'' (1921), private collection.
*''Signing the Register'' (undated),
Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...
.
*''The Fond Farewell'' (1891),
Messum's
Messum's is an art gallery in Bury Street, St. James's, London, with a branch in Marlow, Buckinghamshire and an associated gallery in Tisbury, Wiltshire.
History
The gallery was founded by David Messum in 1963. The gallery exhibits contempora ...
, London.
*''Lord of the Manor'' (undated), private collection.
*''Sorrow and Song'' (undated), Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery.
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leighton, Edmund Blair
1852 births
1922 deaths
19th-century English painters
English male painters
20th-century English painters
British genre painters
People educated at University College School
Alumni of the Heatherley School of Fine Art
Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools
19th-century English male artists
English children's book illustrators
Members of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters
20th-century English male artists
