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William Robinson Leigh (September 23, 1866 – March 11, 1955) was an American artist and illustrator, who was known for his painted Western scenes.

Early life

William Robinson Leigh was born on September 23, 1866, at Maidstone Manor Farm, Berkeley County, West Virginia. He was a son of naval officer William B. Leigh (1814–1888) and, his second wife, Mary White (née Colston) Leigh (1832–1918), who were first cousins. His father's first wife, Gabriella "Ella" Wickham (a daughter of John Wickham), died giving birth to their only child. Among his siblings were Benjamin Watkins Leigh, Edward Colston Leigh, Raleigh Thomas Colston Leigh, and Thomas Watkins Leigh.^[1]

His paternal grandparents were U.S. Senator Benjamin Watkins Leigh and, his second wife, Susanna (née Colston) Leigh. His aunt, Susan Leigh, was the wife of Conway Robinson. His maternal grandparents were U.S. Representative Edward Colston and, his second wife, Sara Jane (née Brockenbrough) Colston.^[1]^[2]

He entered the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts (now known as Maryland Institute College of Art) at age 14, then attended the Royal Academy in Munich, winning four successive bronze medals at academy exhibitions beginning in 1884 and silver medals in 1891 and 1892.^[3] He spent twelve years abroad before returning to the United States.^[4]

Career

In 1895 he returned to New York City, New York where he opened an art studio. He painted cycloramas and made illustrations for Scribner's and Collier's magazines,^[4] including the cover illustration of the August 4, 1904 Leslie's Weekly featuring a policeman "Piloting Children to Safety at a Crowded New York Crossing."^[5]

In 1906, Leigh traveled to the American West at the request of the Santa Fe Railroad to paint the Grand Canyon, while maintaining his studio in New York City. In 1926 he travelled to Africa at the invitation of Carl Akeley for the American Museum of Natural History, and from this experience wrote and illustrated Frontiers of Enchantment: An Artist's Adventures in Africa.^[6] In 1933, he wrote and illustrated The Western Pony. His adventures were chronicled in a number of popular magazines including Life, the Saturday Evening Post.^[4] He is known for painting the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park, but his primary interest was the Hopi and Navajo Indians. In 1953 he was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1955.

Leigh also made astrobiological art for the March 1908 issue of Cosmopolitan, with four full-page illustrations of an article written by H. G. Wells, "The Things that Live on Mars", which speculated about Martian life.^[7]^[8] Science fiction writer Edmond Hamilton, born October 1904, described looking and re-looking at the issue as a defining experience in his life. "I wasn't yet able to read it, to read the article, but those pictures!"^[9]

Personal life

Leigh was twice married. He wed his first wife, nurse Anna Seng, in 1899, who was one of the original Gibson Girls.^[10] Before their divorce in c. 1903, they were the parents of:^[11]

William Colston Leigh, Sr. (1901–1992), who married Helen M. Cady.^[12] They divorced and he married Ardis Neff in 1946.^[4]^[13]^[14]

In 1921, he married his second wife, Ethel Traphagen Leigh (1883–1963), the founder of the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York City. She was a daughter of New York State Senator William C. Traphagen and sister of John C. Traphagen, former president of the Bank of New York.^[15]

Leigh died on March 11, 1955 at his home, 200 West 57th Street (also known as the Rodin Studios) in Manhattan.^[16] After his death, Leigh's New York studio was given to the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma.^[4]

Selected work

The Roping, 1914 oil on canvas, signed W. R. Leigh
Bears in the Path (Surprise), 1904, Oil on canvas, Sid Richardson Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
The Hold Up (The Ambush), 1903, Oil on canvas, Sid Richardson Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

References

^ ^a ^b Bellet, Louise Pecquet du (1907). Some Prominent Virginia Families. J.P. Bell Company (Incorporated). pp. 237–238. ISBN 978-0-7222-4616-0. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
^ Virginia Genealogies & Land Patents: Series of Articles from the Richmond Critic, 1888-9 & 1890. Brookhaven Press. 2001. ISBN 978-1-4035-0096-0. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
^ "Painter on Horseback". TIME Magazine. Vol. 51, no. 18. May 3, 1948. p. 55. ISSN 0040-781X.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Don C. Wood. "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Maidstone Manor Farm" (PDF). State of West Virginia, West Virginia Division of Culture and History, Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-06-02.
^ "Piloting Children to Safety at a Crowded New York Crossing". Leslie's Weekly. Vol. 99, no. 2552. F. Leslie. August 4, 1904. p. 97.
^ William R. Leigh (1938). Frontiers of Enchantment. Simon and Schuster.
^ "Science Fiction Illustration: An Artist's View of Life on Mars". Illustration Art Solutions (illustration-art-solutions.com). 2010, 2014. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
^ "The Things That Live on Mars". By H. G. Wells. Illustrated by William R. Leigh. Cosmopolitan Magazine XLIV:4 (March 1908). pp. 334–42.
p. 334, the first of Leigh's four full-page illustrations, is the frontispiece of the issue. Front cover evidently by another artist. Digital copy (from p. 334) at HathiTrust Digital Library (hdl.handle.net). Retrieved 2016-07-08.
^ Tangent Online Presents: An Interview with Leigh Brackett & Edmond Hamilton Archived 2016-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. Conducted by Dave Truesdale and Paul McGuire III. April 16–18, 1976. Tangent (tangentonline.com). Reprint from Tangent No. 5 (Summer 1976), probably with later thumbnail images. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
^ Johnston, Patricia Condon (24 January 2022). "William Robinson Leigh – Artist of Enchantment". Sporting Classics Daily. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
^ Hamersly, Lewis Randolph; Leonard, John W.; Mohr, William Frederick (1907). Who's Who in New York City and State. New York City, New York: L.R. Hamersly Company. p. 826.
^ Lambert, Bruce (July 19, 1992). "W. Colston Leigh, 90, Who Ran Top Agency in Lecture Business". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
^ "Descendants of Ferdinando Leigh, Dick Purser, undated" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
^ Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. (August 21, 1946). "ARDIS NEFF MARRIED; She Is Wed in New Hampshire to W. Colston Leigh". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
^ "Ethel Traphagen Leigh Is Dead; Founded Fashion School in '23". The New York Times. April 30, 1963. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
^ "WILLIAM R. LEIGH, ARTIST, 88, DEAD; Painter of West Created African Scenes in Museum of Natural History Here". The New York Times. March 13, 1955. Retrieved 18 December 2024.

Bibliography

Conzelman, Adrienne Ruger (2002). After the Hunt: The Art Collection of William B. Ruger. Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780811700375. OCLC 49936053.
Cummins, D. Duane (1980). William Robinson Leigh: Western Artist. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0806116285. OCLC 5940997.
Leigh, William Robinson (1938). Frontiers of Enchantment: An Artist's Adventures in Africa. Simon and Schuster. OCLC 989645.
Leigh, William Robinson, Autobiography, (MSS SC 171), L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.