Michael Leonard Portrait Paintings
British, 1933-2023
Born in India in 1933 to British parents, at the end of the war in Europe Leonard returned to England to complete his education. In 1954, after two years of National Service in the army, he went to St Martin’s School of Art in London and studied Commercial Design and Illustration. By the time he left Art School in 1957 he was already working as a freelance illustrator and for many years was busy producing artwork for books, magazines, advertising and the press.
As an illustrator he worked in a small studio attached to the offices of his agents ‘Artist Partners’ in Soho. Meanwhile at home he experimented, trying to discover his voice as a painter. His work eventually came to the attention of Fischer Fine Art, a distinguished London gallery of the day and in 1972 several of his paintings were included in one of their group shows. In 1974 they gave him his first One Man Show and after that he gradually left illustration behind.
He was nearly forty when his life as an exhibiting painter began. At first his pictures tended to be formal, sober and low key — an attempt perhaps to distance himself from the sensational values of the commercial world. People sat in rooms, posed with their dogs in London’s parks or went sailing on the river. By degrees his work became more animated and colourful.
The people in his pictures were usually friends who were kind enough to model for him but he also painted portraits to commission and among his subjects were Lincoln Kirstein, Edward Lucie-Smith, Adrian Ward Jackson, Sir Peter Moores and the Marquess and Marchioness of Hartington (now the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire). In 1985 Reader’s Digest commissioned him to paint a portrait of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II in honour of her sixtieth birthday. (It is now in the National Portrait Gallery’s permanent collection).
The nude, particularly the male nude, has been a recurring theme. His figures are usually on the move or in a state of transition but even when they are at rest dynamism is provided by the design of the picture. This can be seen in Vanitas, (a sleeping man cradling a skull) Watermelons, (a torso as part of a ‘tableau’ with fruit) and in Pomegranate Man and Nectarine Man. Almost all his paintings of the nude are based on drawings which, besides being preparatory studies, are ends in themselves.
Michael died in London on 28 July 2023.(Biography provided by Henry Miller Fine Art)
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Artist: Michael Leonard
Alan, Bella, Brick and Slate
By Michael Leonard
Located in London, GB
Acrylic on Masonite board, signed and dated (lower middle), 70cm x 70cm (91cm x 91cm framed). Price on request
This work depicts Alan and his dog, Bella, on Michael Leonard’s balcon...
Category
1970s Post-War Michael Leonard Portrait Paintings
Materials
Acrylic, Board
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"Carlos Kis exposes his painting, populated by madonnas, roosters and images, a threshold between the real and the fantastic, a mystical force that exerts a fascination on the public, the result of a cosmopolitan experience, from Yugoslav ancestry, to coming to Brazil and the departure for the United States. The five years he lived in New York put him in direct contact with the busy world of megalopolises, at the same time in search of explanations - like the primitive ones - in the fantastic. Magics, fetishes, myths , symbols, become strong in a new trend".
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Select collections
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Exxon Corporation
Columbia University
Long Island University
New York University - New York (USA)
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Individual Exhibitions
sd - São Paulo SP - Carlos Kis: Recent Paintings Made in Unique Technique in the World, at Paço das Artes
1945 - Mexico City (Mexico) - Individual - 1st prize with the work Descargando pedregulho
1963 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at the Gallery Artécnica
1964 - Campinas SP - Individual, at the Jockey Club Art Gallery in Campinas
1965 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at KLM Gallery
1968 - Buenos Aires (Argentina) - Individual, at Kraft Moreno Gallery
1968 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery
1968 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Columbia Palace Hotel Art Gallery
1968 - Montevideo (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Rio de la Plata Gallery
1968 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the Guendalina Gallery
1969 - Punta del Este (Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery
1969 - Porto Alegre RS - Individual, at the North American Brazilian Cultural Institute
1970 - Punta del Este ( Uruguay) - Individual, at the San Rafael Art Gallery
1970 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at the Actualidades da Hebraica Art Gallery
1971 - New York (United States) - Individual, at the Empire Savings Bank Art Gallery
1971 - New York (States United) - Solo, at Charles Mann Gallery
1972 - Long Island (United States) - Solo, at Long Island University
1972 - New York (United States) - Solo, at Saint Bartholomew's Art Gallery
1973 - Englewood (United States) - Solo, at the Jewel Spiegel Art Gallery
1973 - Newark (United States) - Solo, at The Art Gallery
1973 - New York (United States) - Solo, at the Park South At Carnegie Hall Art Gallery
1974 - New York (United States) - Solo, at the Empire Savings Bank Art Gallery
1974 - New York (United States) - Solo, at the New York University Art Gallery and The Catholic Center
1976 - Santos SP - Retrospective, at the Municipal Gallery
1977 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at UCBEU
1978 - Florianópolis SC - Individual, at Clube Doze de Agosto
1978 - Brasília DF - Carlos Kis: oils and prints, at Itaugaleria
1978 - São Paulo SP - Carlos Kis: oils and prints, at Itaugaleria
1978 - Itapetininga SP - Individual, at City Hall
1978 - Santos SP - Individual, at Cades Art Gallery
1978 - Santos SP - Individual, at Santos Art and Decoration Center
1982 - Santos SP - Individual, at CCBEU Gallery
1982 - Santos SP - Individual, at Centro Cultural Brasil-United States Gallery
1983 - São Carlos SP - Carlos Kis: oils and prints, at Itaugaleria
1983 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at Galeria de Arte Atualidades da Hebraica
1983 - Guarujá SP - Individual , at Delphin Hotel Gallery
1983 - Santos SP - Individual, at Banco do Brasil
1983 - São Paulo SP - Carlos Kis: oils & paintings in phenolic art, at Galeria Atualidades
1983 - São Paulo SP - Individual, at the First National City Bank Gallery
1983 - São Paulo SP - Kis-Pinturas Recentes, at the State Department of Culture
1984 - Santos SP - Individual, at the Santos Association Gallery
1984 - São Paulo SP - Retrospective, at Sesi Art Gallery
1985 - Sorocaba SP - Individual, at Sesc/Senac Art Gallery
1986 - Joinville SC - Individual, at Joinville Art Museum
1986 - Joinville SC - Individual, at Victor Kursancev Gallery
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1988 - Santos SP - Individual, at the Santos Doctors Association Gallery
1989 - Santos SP - Individual, at Aliança Francesa
1990 - Sebring (United States) - Individual, at Kissimmee Valley Gallery
1991 - Sarasota (United States) - Individual, at Frank Oeheschlaeger Gallery
1992 - Santos SP - Individual, at CCBEU Gallery
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1970 - Chicago (United States) - Collective at Gilman Galleries
1971 - New York (United States) - Collective at The Weyhe Gallery
1971 - New York (United States) - Brazilian Art, at Iramar Gallery
1972 - Mexico City (Mexico) - Collective, LifShitz Art Gallery
1972 - London (England) - Collective, at Philathea College Museum of Modern Art
1972 - New York (United States) - Collective, at Lexington Art Gallery
1972 - New York (United States) - Latin American Art at Columbia University
1972 - New York (United States) - Spring Arts Festival, at Educational & Cultural Fund. of EI
1972 - New York (United States) - Spring is Here at One World Trade Center New York
1972 - Paris (France) - Paintings & Sculptures, at Le Demeure
1973 - Long Island (United States) - Collective, at Crow's Best Gallery
1975 - São Paulo SP - The theme is the Woman, at Azulão Art Gallery
1976 - São Paulo SP - Collective, at Masp
1976 - Santos SP - Collective, at the Centro Cultural Brasil-United States Gallery
1976 - Santos SP - Collective, at the Santos Art and Decoration Gallery
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Michael Leonard portrait paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Michael Leonard portrait paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Michael Leonard in acrylic paint, board, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1970s and is mostly associated with the post-war style. Not every interior allows for large Michael Leonard portrait paintings, so small editions measuring 36 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of and Abraham Straski. Michael Leonard portrait paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $25,883 and tops out at $25,883, while the average work can sell for $25,883.