Skip to main content

William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

American, 1866-1955
William R. Leigh was born in Berkeley County, West Virginia in 1866 and spent his boyhood on a farm. At the age of fourteen he was sent to the Maryland Institute in Baltimore to begin his art training. Although from a very poor family, he managed to spend twelve years in Europe where he studied at the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany. Upon returning to the United States he opened a studio in New York and did illustrations for "Scribner's Magazine". It was not until he was forty years old that he was able to see the West which had occupied his thoughts for such a long time. His bold use of color depicted the clear light and brilliant hues of the West as he saw it. It was during this phase of his career that he came to be known as the "Sagebrush Rembrandt". In 1921 Leigh married Ethel Traphagen, a women's clothing designer, and together they established the successful Traphagen School of Fashion in New York City. In 1926 and 1928 he made two trips to Africa. On these trips he did many paintings of big game, and returning to New York he did the backgrounds for animal habitat groups. He painted in the Southwest nearly every summer between 1912 and 1926. 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. He died in 1955.
1
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
4
73
45
42
41
2
2
Artist: William Robinson Leigh
Bull
By William Robinson Leigh
Located in Missouri, MO
Bull by W. R. Leigh (1866-1955) Signed Lower Left Unframed: 20" x 16" Framed: 33.25" x 27.25" 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 Realist William Robinson Leigh 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 William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Related Items
Bison in Snow, Animal Picture, American School, John Aldrich Ruthven, signed
By John Ruthven
Located in Greven, DE
John Aldrich Ruthven American Painter Bison in a Snow Blizzard Watercolor and Gouache on Paper signed lower left
Category

20th Century American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache

Two Penguins, contemporary realist animal watercolor on paper
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Brodsky pairs gouache and watercolor to achieve the luster of her subject's plumage. Each carefully defined feather shimmers with a prism of color. Her attention to detail is enliven...
Category

2010s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

Coral Reef Painting Life Mag Published 1953. Mid Century Modern American Scene
By Antonio Petruccelli
Located in New York, NY
Coral Reef Painting Life Mag Published 1953. Mid Century Modern American Scene Antonio Petruccelli (1907 – 1994) The World We Live In Coral Reef ...
Category

1950s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Gouache, Board

Whimbrel #11 Speaking Out, Original Painting
By Emil Morhardt
Located in San Francisco, CA

Artist Comments
This whimbrel was trying to tell me something as he was leaving. Whimbrels don't talk a lot, so this image is amusingly unusual. He's painted in browns and gr...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

Yellow Bird Akimbo, contemporary realist gouache miniature animal portrait
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Dina Brodsky's realist miniature gouache painting, Yellow Bird Akimbo, is kinetic and visceral. Clinging to diverging branches, the little yellow shock of a bird is caught betwixt an...
Category

2010s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

"Head Em Home", Mid Century Cowboy on Horse Western Figurative Landscape
By Stanley M. Long
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid Century figurative landscape of a cowboy on his horse at sundown titled "Head Em Home" by Stanley M. Long (American, 1892-1972). Signed “Stanley M. Long” in bottom right corner. Displayed in a simple wood frame and off-white mat with glass. Image size: 22.75”H x 30.25”L. Frame is 1.5" deep. Stanley M. Long was a watercolorist who was born in Oakland, CA on May 4, 1892. He spent his childhood on a ranch in Napa where he broke wild horses. He began sketching when quite young and at age 15 enrolled at the San Francisco Institute of Art. He continued at the California College of Arts and Crafts, where he was awarded a scholarship for further study at Académie Julian in Paris. Long served in the camouflage corps in both world wars. Long taught art in San Francisco at Mission High School and for 17 years at Polytechnic High School. His western illustrations were featured in Sunset Magazine and the Los Angeles Times. Having worked with horses all his life, they were to become the main theme of his paintings. Member: Society of Western Artists, Napa Valley Art...
Category

1950s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Bronx Post Office Mural Study WPA Horse Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern
By Jo Cain
Located in New York, NY
Bronx Post Office Mural Study WPA Horse Social Realism Mid 20th Century Modern Jo Cain (1904 - 2003) Couriers of History Bronx Post Office Mural Study Horse in the Sun (with two ad...
Category

1930s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Board

"RED ROBINS" BIRDS
Located in San Antonio, TX
Dianna Aldana (Born 1950) Image Size: 10 x 7 Frame Size: 13.5 x 11.75 Medium: Watercolor 2022 "Red Robins" Dianna is a self-taught artist, whose only training was in her high school ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

"RED ROBINS" BIRDS
"RED ROBINS" BIRDS
H 13.5 in W 11.75 in D 2 in
WPA Post Office Mural Study Native American Scene Regionalism Social Realism
By Louise Ronnebeck
Located in New York, NY
WPA Post Office Mural Study Native American Scene Regionalism Social Realism Louise Emerson Ronnebeck (1901 - 1980) Proposal Sketch for Worland Wyoming Post Office WPA Mural Project Image: 7 x 15 inches Board 14 x 22 inches Watercolor on paper, attached to black/gray cardboard/thick paper c. 1937 Signed lower right Written in Louise's hand on mounting paper in white chalk/pencil: "Sketch for Mural...
Category

1930s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Cardboard

Squabbling Penguins, contemporary realist animal watercolor on paper
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Brodsky pairs gouache and watercolor to achieve the luster of her subject's plumage. Each carefully defined feather shimmers with a prism of color. Her attention to detail is enliven...
Category

2010s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

Peacock, contemporary realist gouache on paper miniature animal portrait
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Dina Brodsky's realist animal miniature, Peacock, is an updated, humorous take on Renaissance portraiture. The peacock's gleaming jade, aqua, and royal blue plumage sweeps around him...
Category

2010s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

Dina Brodsky, Bluebird, realist animal watercolor on paper, 2019
By Dina Brodsky
Located in New York, NY
Dina Brodsky pairs gouache and watercolor to achieve the luster of her subject's plumage. The rich royal blue reflects in a dreamy glow off the bird's perch. Each carefully defined f...
Category

2010s American Realist William Robinson Leigh Animal Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Gouache

William Robinson Leigh animal drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic William Robinson Leigh animal drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by William Robinson Leigh in paint, paper, watercolor and more. Not every interior allows for large William Robinson Leigh animal drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 16 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Dina Brodsky, Margaret Sweet Johnson, and William Stout.

Recently Viewed

View All