Skip to main content
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

William R. Leigh
Flamingos

About the Item

Flamingos By William Robinson Leigh (1866-1955) Signed Lower Left Unframed: 12" x 10" Framed: 21" x 17.5" Born near Falling Waters, West Virginia on a plantation a year after the Civil War, and raised in Baltimore, William Leigh became one of the foremost painters of the American West with a career of seventy-five years. Some people referred to him as the "Sagebrush Rembrandt". He was the son of impoverished Southern aristocrats and took his first art training at age 14 from Hugh Newell (1830-1915) at the Maryland Institute where he was regarded as one of the best students in his class. From 1883 to 1895, he studied in Europe, mainly at the Royal Academy in Munich with Ludwig Loefftz. From 1891 to 1896, he painted six cycloramas or murals in the round, a giant German panorama. In 1896, he began working as a magazine illustrator in New York City for Scribner's and Collier's Weekly Magazine, and he also painted portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes. However, he was not a very successful artist in those years in New York. Trips to the Southwest began in 1906 when he made an agreement with William Simpson, Santa Fe Railway advertising manager, to paint the Grand Canyon in exchange for free transportation West. In 1907, he completed his Grand Canyon painting, which led to many more commissions and an extensive painting trip through Arizona and New Mexico. These travels inspired him to paint western subjects for the next 50 years, but it was not until the 1940s that he received much recognition. He painted in the Southwest nearly every summer between 1912 and 1926 and focused on the Hopi and Navajo Indians. In 1910, he traveled to Wyoming, where he painted in Yellowstone Park and did sketches, many which he later converted into large canvases such as Lower Falls of the Yellowstone (1915) and Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone (1911). His style was realistic, and his palette invariably had the Southwestern hues of soft pinks, reds, yellows and purples. In fact, his critics who knew little of the Southwest accused him of fabricating the colors. As an older man he was described as a big, powerful man with gray hair and a white handlebar mustache and a deep base voice. He was highly opinionated and absolutely hated modern, abstract art. During the latter part of his career, he painted a series of American historical murals as well as paintings based on his travels to Africa funded by the Eastman Kodak Company and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. For many years, his work was handled exclusively in New York at the Grand Central Art Galleries at the Biltmore Hotel. Many of his works are at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In March, 1999, the Historical Center of Cody, Wyoming held an exhibition of his field sketches and finished works depicting his experiences near Cody, Wyoming in the early part of the century, between 1910 and 1921. These years, many which he spent painting in the Carter Mountain vicinity, were considered crucial to his artistic development because he was exposed to western landscape. His companion during these travels was Cody taxidermist Will Richard who stirred his interest in wildlife.
  • Creator:
    William R. Leigh (1866 - 1955)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Missouri, MO
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU747311349482

More From This Seller

View All
Majestic Horse
By Hoi Lebadang
Located in Missouri, MO
Hoi Lebedang "Majestic Horse" c. 1950s Original Mixed Media on Paper Signed "Lebedang, Paris" Lower Right Site Size: approx 13 x 20 inches Framed Size: ...
Category

1950s Modern Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Carriage Ride in the Park
By Constantin Ernest Adolphe Hyacinthe Guys
Located in Missouri, MO
Constantin Guys (1802-1892) "Carriage Ride in the Park" c. 1860s Ink and Wash on Paper Original Labels Verso Site Size: approx. 8 x 11.5 inches Framed S...
Category

1860s Realist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor

Running Horse Study
By William Henry Dethlef Koerner
Located in Missouri, MO
Running Horse Study William Henry Dethlef Koerner (German, American, 1878-1938) Pencil on Paper Signed Lower Right 5 x 8 inches 12 x 15 inches with frame William Henry Dethlef Koern...
Category

Early 20th Century American Modern Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil, Color Pencil

Four Horse Head Studies
By William Henry Dethlef Koerner
Located in Missouri, MO
Four Horse Head Studies William Henry Dethlef Koerner (German, American, 1878-1938) Pencil on Paper Signed Lower Left 9 x 7 inches 16 x 14 inches with frame William Henry Dethlef Ko...
Category

Early 20th Century American Modern Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pencil, Color Pencil

Three Setters on Point
By Edmund Henry Osthaus
Located in Missouri, MO
Three Setters on Point Edmund Henry Osthaus (German, 1858-1928) Watercolor on Paper Signed Lower Right 18 x 27 inches 24.5 x 33.5 inches with frame Born in Hildesheim, Germany, Edmu...
Category

Early 20th Century Realist Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

The Noble Bull
By William Robinson Leigh
Located in Missouri, MO
William Robinson Leigh "The Noble Bull" Watercolor on Paper Signed Lower Left Site Size: 20 x 15 inches Framed Size: approx. 33.5 inches x 27 inches Born near Falling Waters, West Virginia on a plantation a year after the Civil War, and raised in Baltimore, William Leigh became one of the foremost painters of the American West with a career of seventy-five years. Some people referred to him as the "Sagebrush Rembrandt". He was the son of impoverished Southern aristocrats and took his first art training at age 14 from Hugh Newell (1830-1915) at the Maryland Institute where he was regarded as one of the best students in his class. From 1883 to 1895, he studied in Europe, mainly at the Royal Academy in Munich with Ludwig Loefftz. From 1891 to 1896, he painted six cycloramas or murals in the round, a giant German panorama. In 1896, he began working as a magazine illustrator in New York City for Scribner's and Collier's Weekly Magazine, and he also painted portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes. However, he was not a very successful artist in those years in New York. Trips to the Southwest began in 1906 when he made an agreement with William Simpson, Santa Fe Railway advertising manager, to paint the Grand Canyon in exchange for free transportation West. In 1907, he completed his Grand Canyon painting...
Category

Early 20th Century American Realist Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

You May Also Like

Scientific Drawing of an Orange Spotted Filefish
Located in Houston, TX
Small pen drawing of an Orange Spotted Fish (Oxymonacanthus Longirostris Monacanthidae) by husband and wife team David and Natasha Deighton. Matted and unframed. Framing options are ...
Category

20th Century Naturalistic Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pen

Horse with Herds - China Ink Drawing by Filippo Palizzi - 1895
By Filippo Palizzi
Located in Roma, IT
Image dimensions: 14x22 cm. Horse with Herds is a really beautiful china ink original drawing on paper, signed and dated in black ink on lower margin by the Italian artist, Filippo Palizzi...
Category

1890s Naturalistic Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink

"Crash" Large Scale Watercolor on paper
By Thomas Broadbent
Located in New York, NY
watercolor on paper, 51"x72" This large scale watercolor on paper depicts a crystal chandelier that appears to have crashed to the floor. Smal...
Category

2010s Naturalistic Figurative Paintings

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

James Exley, Roaring Tiger watercolour
By James Robert Granville Exley
Located in Harkstead, GB
James Exley (1878-1967) Roaring Tiger, Signed and dated 1903, Watercolour 14 x 10 ¼ inches A superbly executed image capturing all the latent power and ferocity of the tiger. Jam...
Category

Early 20th Century Naturalistic Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Birds of Europe by John and Elisabeth Goult, 1832
By John Gould and Elizabeth Gould
Located in Paris, FR
Rare Set of 6 beautiful Naturalistic hand-colored lithograph prints by John Gould from his work Birds of Europe, embelished with gum arabic in vibrant colors. Published 1832 - 1837 by Hullmandel, Walter and Walton. Presented in gold leaf wood frames. Very charming . The price includes the set of 6 framed ones. John Gould (1804–1881) is the most prolific publisher of ornithological subjects of all time. In 19th-century Europe, his name was as well known as Audubon’s was in North America. Unlike Audubon, whose life’s work focused on one region, Gould traveled widely and employed other artists to help create his lavish, hand-colored lithographic folios. John Gould’s love of natural history was fostered in the gardens of King George III where his father was chief gardener at Windsor Castle. Although trained as a gardener, Gould’s interests quickly evolved, and at the age of 20, he was appointed taxidermist to the Zoological Society of London. After three years, he progressed to the position of curator of birds and chief taxidermist. In 1830, newly married, Gould and his artist wife, Elizabeth Gould...
Category

1830s Naturalistic Prints and Multiples

Materials

Lithograph

Mountains and Valley Autumnal
Located in Soquel, CA
Serene cloudy landscape by Arthur Philemon Coleman (Canada, 1852-1939). From atop a hill, the viewer looks across a valley. There are a few outcroppings of trees, as well as a farmhouse and livestock. In the far distance, rolling hills with exposed rock are seen in the distance. Signed "A. Coleman" in the lower left corner. Presented in a double mat with foam core backing. Image size: 9.75"H x 16"W Mat size: 14.88"H x 21.75"W Some age toning to paper and an age toned section is in the center of the painting running from top to bottom. Arthur Coleman...
Category

Late 19th Century Naturalistic Landscape Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Recently Viewed

View All