American, 1866-1955 Master of His Domain Signed W. R. Leigh. (lr) Ink on paper 13 x 9 7/8 inches Provenance: J. N. Bartfield Galleries, New York (Framed 24 1/8 x 20 5 /8 inches) 1/2 inch repaired tear at the center right edge; toning at the extreme edges.
WILLIAM ROBINSON LEIGH (American, 1866-1955) Navajo Weaver Preparing Indigo Dye signed and dated 'W.R. LEIGH / 1912' (lower right) oil on canvas 12 x 15 in (30.5 x 38.1 cm). framed 20 1/2 x 23 3/4 x 2 in (52.1 x 60.3 x 5.1 cm). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
WILLIAM ROBINSON LEIGH (1866-1955) Navajo Shepherdess signed and dated 'W.R. LEiGH / 1916.' (lower left); identified on a presentation plaque; identified on a label from the Salmagundi Club, New York (affixed to the reverse) oil on canvas mounted to board 7 7/8 x 10 in (20.0 x 25.4 cm). framed 9 1/16 x 11 x 1/2 in (23.0 x 27.9 x 1.3 cm). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
LEIGH, William Robinson, (American/German, 1866-1955): "Dust Storm", depicts a Pony, 14.75" x 19.5" with margins, pencil signed lower right, impression size 9.75" x 11.75", under visqueen with acid-free foam core.
LEIGH, William Robinson, (American/German, 1866-1955): "Dust Storm", depicts a Pony, 14.75" x 19.5" with margins, pencil signed lower right, impression size 9.75" x 11.75", under visqueen with acid-free foam core.
LEIGH, William Robinson, (American/German, 1866-1955): Two Etchings: 1) "Foul Rope Right", 15.25" x 10.75" with margins, pencil signed lower right, under visqueen, affixed to acid-free board; 2) "Foul Rope Left", 18" x 14" with margins, pencil signed lower right, impression size 14.75" x 11.75", signed in the plate, under visqueen, affixed to acid-free foam board.
LEIGH, William Robinson, (American/German, 1866-1955): Pueblo Village, Etching, 17" x 20" with margins, pencil signed lower right, image size 12" x 15", unframed.
LEIGH, William Robinson, (American/German, 1866-1955): Female Nude from Behind, Pencil Drawing, 25" x 18.5", pencil signed lower right and dated 1932, framed 26.25" x 19.75".
William Robinson Leigh (American, 1866-1955). Gouache and watercolor on paper portrait painting titled "Three Calf" depicting a seated Native American man. Signed along the lower right. With a label from Cisco's Gallery in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho affixed to the verso. Depicting the Blackfeet chief Three Calf after Winold Reiss' composition titled "Three Calf." Provenance: Private Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Collection; Artemis Gallery, September 8, 2023, Lot 196; Private Minnesota Collection.
William Robinson Leigh (American, 1866-1955) Navajo Weaver Preparing Indigo Dye signed and dated 'W.R. LEIGH/1912' (lower right) oil on canvas 12 x 15 in. framed 20 1/2 x 23 3/4 x 2 in.
William Robinson Leigh (September 23, 1866 March 11, 1955) specialized in Western scenes. He was born at Maidstone Manor Farm, West Virginia in Berkeley County. His focus was on the purples and pinks that come into being at sun set over the mountain ranges of New Mexico and Arizona, and the changing light of the Southwest. Leigh traveled to the Southwest several times to paint the people and landscape, though he never moved there permanently. He led a dual life, as he and his wife opened the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York. The school taught clothing design courses, and was cutting-edge, students and its owner claiming responsibility for introducing slacks and shorts to women's wear lines. He traveled all over the West, painting the Yellowstone National Forest and the Grand Canyon. His main area of interest was the Navajo and Hopi Indians, who he painted from 1912 to 1926every summer. He entered the Maryland Institute in 1880, and then attended the Royal Academy in Munich. Leigh returned to the U.S. after 12 years abroad and began working as a magazine illustrator and also painted cycloramas. In the U.S., he settled in New York City, and made illustrations for Collier's and Scribner's magazines. He became deeply-rooted as an illustrator, but both the limited subject matter and the nature of the work made him concerned for new challenges. Many of his pieces of art were and are still presented as framed William R. Leigh art. Please ask specific questions on details, condition, and shipping prior to bidding, ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS IS, and the bidder will be responsible for payment. We box and ship what we can to keep costs low, and use USPS and UPS. Large items, extremely fragile, and high value items will be packed by UPS. Quotes available on request
William Robinson Leigh (September 23, 1866 March 11, 1955) specialized in Western scenes. He was born at Maidstone Manor Farm, West Virginia in Berkeley County. His focus was on the purples and pinks that come into being at sun set over the mountain ranges of New Mexico and Arizona, and the changing light of the Southwest. Leigh traveled to the Southwest several times to paint the people and landscape, though he never moved there permanently. He led a dual life, as he and his wife opened the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York. The school taught clothing design courses, and was cutting-edge, students and its owner claiming responsibility for introducing slacks and shorts to women's wear lines. He traveled all over the West, painting the Yellowstone National Forest and the Grand Canyon. His main area of interest was the Navajo and Hopi Indians, who he painted from 1912 to 1926every summer. He entered the Maryland Institute in 1880, and then attended the Royal Academy in Munich. Leigh returned to the U.S. after 12 years abroad and began working as a magazine illustrator and also painted cycloramas. In the U.S., he settled in New York City, and made illustrations for Collier's and Scribner's magazines. He became deeply-rooted as an illustrator, but both the limited subject matter and the nature of the work made him concerned for new challenges. Many of his pieces of art were and are still presented as framed William R. Leigh art. Please ask specific questions on details, condition, and shipping prior to bidding, ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS IS, and the bidder will be responsible for payment. We box and ship what we can to keep costs low, and use USPS and UPS. Large items, extremely fragile, and high value items will be packed by UPS. Quotes available on request
William Robinson Leigh (American, 1866-1955). "Three Calf" gouache and watercolor on paper, n.d. Signed "W.R. LEIGH" at lower right. A beautiful portrait of a revered Blackfeet chief named Three Calf by William Robinson Leigh (also known as W.R. Leigh and William Leigh) after Winold Reiss' composition titled "Three Calf". The sitter is presented in a 3/4 pose, wearing a hide shirt adorned with a colorful pattern as well as fringe comprised of beads and horse hair, a bear claw necklace, and feather hair wraps. He holds a peace pipe in his lap and gazes toward his left. This painting is particularly fascinating, because it demonstrates W.R. Leigh's admiration for Winold Reiss' Native American portraits. Both artists were lured to the West, because they wished to portray Native American life. Size (sight view): 23.625" L x 14.5" W (60 cm x 36.8 cm) Size (frame): 30.5" L x 21.5" W (77.5 cm x 54.6 cm) About the artist: "William R. Leigh was born in Berkeley County, West Virginia in 1866. Deciding upon a career in art quite early, Leigh enrolled in classes at the Maryland Institute, Baltimore, in 1880, spending three years there before moving to Munich, where he studied at the Royal Academy for over a decade, leaving in 1895. While at the Academy, he won the annual medal for painting six times in a row. Returning to the United States, Leigh settled in New York City, where he made illustrations for Scribner's and Collier's magazines. He became well-established as an illustrator, but both the nature of the work and the limited subject matter made him anxious for new challenges. In 1906, an opportunity to expand the scope of his work came about when the Sante Fe Railroad offered him free passage into the West in exchange for a painting of the Grand Canyon. Leigh accepted the offer and, at age forty, set off through New Mexico and Arizona on a trip that yielded not just the Grand Canyon piece he had been commissioned to do, but five more canvases that were purchased by the railroad. His focus was on the changing light of the Southwest, the pinks and purples that come into being when the sun sets over the mountain ranges of Arizona and New Mexico. Half-jokingly referred to as 'The Sagebrush Rembrandt,' Leigh traveled to the Southwest many more times to paint the landscape and people, though he never moved there permanently. In fact, he led a sort of dual life, as he and his wife, Ethel Traphagen, opened the Traphagen School of Fashion in New York, which taught clothing design courses. The school was cutting-edge, its owner and students claiming responsibility for introducing shorts and slacks to women's wear lines. Leigh traveled all over the West, painting the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Forest. His primary area of interest, however, was the Hopi and Navajo Indians, who he painted every summer from 1912 to 1926. In 1926 he took his first of two trips to Africa, though African subjects never permeated his work as thoroughly as Southwestern subjects. A successful illustrator, Leigh started to experience real success as a fine artist starting in the early 1940s. A large and robust man, he was a vehement opponent of Modernist painting." (Medicine Man Gallery website) About Winold Reiss: Winold Reiss (1886-1953) was a German-born Modernist who immigrated to the United States because he wanted to depict Native Americans. Reiss painted individuals of the Blackfeet Nation between 1920 and 1948, always depicting the visages of his sitters with impressive realism and taking care to delineate their regalia in a veristic manner, consistently featuring the designs and motifs of Blackfeet artisans. The Great Northern Railway reproduced Reiss' portraits on calendars and advertisements for its tours of Glacier National Park. Reiss also ran an art school on Blackfoot land near Glacier Park during the summers of 1931 and 1934 to 1937. In 2021, the Museum of the Plains Indian in Browning, Montana hosted "Connections: The Blackfeet and Winold Reiss". The exhibition brochure provide the following description to demonstrate the broad scope of Reiss' oeuvre: "A versatile artist, designer, and teacher, Reisss career is hard to categorize. He created hundreds of portraits during his lifetime. In addition to his vibrant, popular images of Blackfeet people, Reiss is also renowned for his 1920s portrait series featuring some of the Black American artists, writers, and intellectuals associated with the Harlem Renaissance. He also painted landscapes, abstractions, and murals, and he was as prolific a designer as he was an artist. His wide-ranging body of design work encompasses everything from graphic designs and illustrations for posters and publications, to furniture and textile design, to the decoration of largescale commercial interiors. Reiss's eclecticism was rooted in his arts training in Germany. Born in the city of Karlsruhe, Reiss's first art teacher was his father Fritz, an artist noted for paintings of German landscapes and people. Before immigrating to the United States in 1913, Reiss studied in Munich, where he was immersed in European Arts and Crafts movements and theories. Reiss embraced a variety of disciplines and he rejected hierarchical distinctions between the so-called fine arts (painting and sculpture) and applied arts or craft. It is no wonder that he admired the practices of Blackfeet artists who produced beautiful and meaningful works for a variety of purposes, from artworks for display, to items with everyday uses, to ceremonial objects." (Brochure for "Connections: The Blackfeet and Winold Reiss" 2021) The record hammer price for William Robinson Leigh's paintings was $1,000,000 for "A Close Call" (1943) - Lot #134, Coeur d'Alene Art Auction on July 29, 2017. The record hammer price for Leigh's watercolors was $160,000 for "Monument Valley" (1936) at Christie's on December 1, 2005 - lot #111. Winold Reiss' pastel titled "Three Calf" sold for $80,000 at Bonhams Los Angeles, CA on November 1, 2022 - lot #12. The record hammer price for Reiss's pastel portraits was $290,000 for "Chief Medicine Boss Ribs, Blackfeet at Santa Fe Art Auction on November 14, 2015 - lot #110. The record hammer price for Reiss's paintings was $580,000 for "Falling Over the Bank" (1928) at Santa Fe Art Auction on December 3, 2016 - lot #291. Provenance: private Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, USA collection All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #181165
William Robinson Leigh (1866 - 1955) Oil on board, Signed Lower Right, Measures ( 8 x 10 inches ) w frame ( x 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.
William Robinson Leigh (American, 1866-1955) Cliff Dweller Art, 1918 oil on board signed W.R. Leigh and dated (lower right) 13 1/8 x 16 5/8 inches Property from an Estate, Sold to Benefit the Wichita Art Museum
William Robinson Leigh (1866-1955) The Water Girl at Walpi signed, inscribed and dated 'Copy / W.R. Leigh / 1910.' (lower left) oil on canvas 33 x 22 in. framed 42 x 31 in.
William Robinson Leigh (American 1866-1955), "Walpi - First Mesa," or "Walpi" circa 1910, etching on paper depicting a man and child walking away from a traditional flat topped pueblo dwelling, signed in plate and pencil signed to lower left, framed. Provenance: Private Collection of Wayne Hyatt, San Diego, CA; acquired from Biltmore Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ. Approx. plate mark h. 11.875", w. 14.375". Paper h. 16", w. 19.375". Frame h. 22", w. 24", d. 1".
"Study for Murals at Museum of Natural History - New York City"; 1926-1928; Graphite on Paper; 8.75" x 11.5"; Signed Lower Right; Framed (under glass); Condition: minor foxing.
William Robinson Leigh (1866-1955) The Water Girl at Walpi signed and dated 'Copy / W.R. Leigh / 1910.' (lower left) oil on canvas 33 x 22 in. framed 42 x 31 in. For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
William Robinson Leigh (1866-1955) Moki Girl Looking Over the Canyon signed and dated 'W.R. LEIGH / 1912' (lower left) and signed again and numbered '#3' (on the reverse) oil on canvas laid to artist's board 10 x 13 in. framed 17 x 20 in. For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
William Robinson Leigh (1866-1955) Indian Woman Cooking signed and dated 'W.R. LEiGH. / 1912.' (lower right) oil on canvas 10 x 11 3/4 in. framed 17 x 19 in. For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
William Robinson Leigh (American, 1866-1955) Indian Sitting on a Rock, No. 3 oil on board laid to board signed W. R. Leigh (lower right) 8 1/4 x 6 inches.
William Robinson Leigh American, 1866-1955 Untitled (The Plains of Tanganyika) Signed W. R. Leigh. (lr) Oil on canvas 22 1/4 x 33 inches C Property of a Prominent New York Family
William Robinson Leigh American, 1866-1955 Untitled (The Plains of Tanganyika) Signed W. R. Leigh. (lr) Oil on canvas 22 1/4 x 33 inches C Property of a Prominent New York Family
WILLIAM ROBINSON LEIGH (American 1866-1955) A PAINTING, "Sage," oil on board, signed L/R, "W.R. Leigh," a partial paper label on the reverse, 9 1/2" x 13 1/4", framed 17 1/2" x 22".
William Robinson Leigh (1866-1955) A Navajo Judge, Kayenta, Arizona signed 'W.R. Leigh' (lower left), signed again, inscribed and dated 'Kayenta Arizona / Aug. 1922' (on the reverse) oil on canvas laid to board 16 x 13in framed 23 1/4 x 19 3/4in Painted in 1922. For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Medium: Oil On Board // Signed On The Back In Pencil And Dated 1935 // Measurements: Art 12 In. X 16 In. Frame 19 In. X 23 In. // From The Ed And Fran Elliot Estate. // (24) 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
William Robinson Leigh (American, 1866-1955) Buffalo, modeled circa 1947, cast posthumously in 1956 by the artist's estate Bronze with brown patina 15 inches (38.1 cm) high Inscribed on base: W R Leigh / Ethel Traphagen Leigh 1956 PROVENANCE: Jack and Nevada Frye, Tucson, Arizona, circa 1940s-'50s; J. Erik Jonsson, Dallas; Philip R. Jonsson, Dallas, by descent from the above. HID01801242017
William Robinson Leigh (American, 1866-1955) The Best in the Bunch, 1941 Oil on canvas laid on aluminum 42-1/2 x 60-1/2 inches (108.0 x 153.7 cm) Signed and dated lower right: W.R. Leigh / 1941 PROVENANCE: Grand Central Art Galleries, Inc., New York; Jack and Nevada Frye, Tucson, Arizona, circa 1940s-'50s; J. Erik Jonsson, Dallas; Philip R. Jonsson, Dallas, by descent from the above. EXHIBITED: Braniff Airways, Love Field Passenger Terminal Building, Dallas, on loan, 1965. LITERATURE: J. DuBois, W. R. Leigh: The Definitive Illustrated Biography, Kansas City, 1977, pp. 100-01, preliminary studies illustrated. Beginning in 1906, William Robinson Leigh made many trips to the American West while maintaining his studio and home in New York City. While his travels covered a wide range of western territory, he had a particular interest in and affection for the Indian lands of Arizona and New Mexico and spent much time there. Leigh was a highly trained artist who had spent twelve years in the Royal Academy in Munich and had worked as an illustrator for ten years in New York before he made his first extensive trip to the West. While he painted other subjects in his long career, most notably a series of murals depicting the African landscape for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, his favorite subjects were the Indians, the landscape, and the cowboys of the Southwest. When an art critic complimented him on one of his western scenes, he said that "the West brings out the best in me." Painted in 1941, The Best in the Bunch is indicative of Leigh's talents as both a figure painter and a landscapist. Leigh's skill in each discipline was honed through his rigorous training in the European academies. Also contributing to his skill was Leigh's practice of making hundreds of field sketches that he would later use as color and tonal references for his finished works. Each of his paintings was meticulously constructed in the same manner. He began with the backgrounds and worked his way slowly to the primary figures in the foreground. Each figure was drawn in charcoal and then colored over with oil. While on location, Leigh would paint the landscape at several different times during the day to make sure that he could accurately depict the quality of the southwestern light at any given hour. The Best in the Bunch shows his figures in the brilliant light of midday, struggling to wrangle a spectacular bucking bronco. The colorful horses and the Native Americans are skillfully contrasted with the subtler colorings and shadings of the arid landscape. As always, Leigh deftly incorporates details and nuances that add to the painting's overall feeling of reality. An expansive mountain range calls the viewer's eyes to the far left distance, adding yet another authentic detail, while the figure in the foreground struggles so physically that his bandana flies off his head, mid-air and mid-action, giving the viewer the sense of having just walked up on the scene as it is unfolding. Leigh's earlier experience as an illustrator no doubt gave him ample experience in constructing a visual narrative, but paintings such as this one sprang completely from his own imagination. They were conceived as dramatic vignettes of the Old West, stories of a time and place that continue to have a powerful hold on the popular imagination. Unlike his contemporaries in the field of western art, Frederic Remington and Charles Marion Russell, Leigh achieved his greatest recognition and success relatively late in his career. He was 75 when he produced this work and his skill as an artist had not been diminished in any way by his advanced age. While both Remington and Russell had highly successful but relatively brief careers, Leigh captured the beauty and drama of the American West with consistent quality for alm
