Tuesday, October 6, 2009

AC Leighton, Painter of the Rockies



AC (Alfred Crocker Leighton) emigrated to Canada in 1924, at the age of 23. He was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway to paint scenes which enamoured Canada to the rest of the world. And, no area in Canada seized the imagination of people at home and abroad as the Rocky Mountains. The CPR, provided Leighton with accommodation and food in return for first rights of purchase of his paintings. Leighton's imagination was seized by the Rocky mountains and in 1933 he established the visual arts programme for the Banff School of Fine Arts. Leighton's health began to fail him when he was about 35 years of age and he returned to England. He returned to Canada prior to WW2, and moved to Vancouver Island, and for a time he lived in California. He died at the age of 64, leaving one of the most visual records of the Canadian Rockies, ever painted at that time.

Collections of his works can be seen in the following museums:
Glenbow Museum, Calgary: http://www.glenbow.org/
The Whyte Museum of Banff, Alberta. http://www.whyte.org/

Source: Terry Fenton: http://www.sharecom.ca/leighton/rockies.html

1 comment:

  1. Hi Winston, it have been somewhat long that I didn't make a comment in your blog yet I follow and am interested in your blog consistantly, even by silence...Your blog looks great!!!I also like that you bring the Canadian and Great artish stories on your blogs.very interesting and well done.i will back to see more on your works:)

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