Rufus Art Rentals
Vancouver, BC
Prices shown reflect WEEKLY RENTAL FEE. For purchase inquiries please contact the gallery at (604) 732-5353. For rentals, head over to RufusArtRentals.com
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Artist: A. C. LEIGHTON (1901-1965)
A.C.’s first visit to Canada as an employee of Canadian Pacific was made in 1924. Leighton boarded the train in Banff and sketched the scenery by often jumping off trains to sketch and then waiting at the exit of the spiral tunnel in Kicking Horse Pass near Cathedral Mountain for the next train to pick him up. The Canadian Pacific had first choice of any paintings and then A.C. could keep the remainder for himself. All of Leighton's paintings that the Canadian Pacific purchased during this period were destroyed during the Second World War in the London bombing raids.
Now a full member of the Royal Society of British Artists, A.C. Leighton’s next trip to Canada was made in 1927, where an exhibition of his work was shown at the Banff Springs Hotel and the Calgary Public Library. In 1929 Leighton returned to Canada to continue sketching in the Rockies. This time he was invited to hold an exhibition in the Eaton's stores in Montreal, Toronto and Hamilton, Winnipeg and Saskatoon.
In September 1929, A.C. Leighton was offered the position as Art Director of the Art Institute of Calgary to replace Lars Haukness, who had suddenly passed away.
In 1930 A.C. Leighton met Barbara Mary Harvey, who was a student in one of his classes. They were married in the early morning on Sunday, May 31, 1931 and their honeymoon was spent packing into the Kananaskis area to paint.
In 1931 A.C. Leighton formed the Alberta Society of Artists and was the first president. This was also the year a joint exhibition of the works of A.C. Leighton and W.J. Phillips was held at the Edmonton Museum of Art.
Throughout the 1930s, A.C. Leighton spent his time between teaching and exhibitions. In 1932 he taught the Summer Art School at the University of Alberta (Edmonton) and, in 1933, he initiated a summer art school near Banff. By 1935 this led to the establishment of the now famous Banff School of Fine Arts.
In 1935 A.C. Leighton’s work was exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery and, by the end of his term in 1936, A.C. was exhausted. A.C. and Barbara decided to take a trip to England for a rest and, in 1938, A.C. resigned from his position at the Art Institute.
Alfred Crocker Leighton