Sydney Richmond Burleigh (July 7, 1853 – February 25, 1931) was an American artist, known primarily for his watercolors but also for his oil paintings, drawings, illustrations, and building and furniture designs.
He was a painter in the realist style, consistent with the academic style of his teacher, Laurens. Mabel Ducasse, an art critic for the Providence Journal, wrote of Burleigh’s art that "there is a quality in his work which suggests that of the masters of the Renaissance when they chose to employ line and wash. It is character — born of perfect certainty of touch and flowing freedom of line. It is seldom achieved by modern watercolorists, who most often mistake the function of their medium, which is that of drawing rather than painting."[1]
Another of his studios was a unique and eccentric little building known as the "Peggotty." Burleigh built it over the hull of a small sailboat that had been used as a ferry between Little Compton and Middletown, Rhode Island. It featured a thatched roof, and today it is on display at the Little Compton Historical Society.[3]
Burleigh was a leading member of the art community in Rhode Island. He was a founder of the Providence Art Club in 1880 and was the first president of the Providence Watercolor Club. He had a long association with the Rhode Island School of Design, serving on the board of directors (1887–1893), as a teacher (1897–1906), and as a trustee (1919–1931). He received an honorary degree from Brown University in 1912.
