{"title":"Leitch, William Leighton","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWilliam Leighton Leitch (1804-1883)\u003c\/strong\u003e was a master Scottish landscape watercolour painter and illustrator. He was Drawing Master to Queen Victoria for 22 years. He was Vice President of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, on Pall Mall in London, for twenty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeitch was born in Glasgow, the son of a soldier who had previously been a sailor. Leitch soon developed a strong inclination for art, and used to practise drawing at night with David Macnee, afterwards president of the Scottish Academy. After a good general education, he found employment in a lawyer's office, then as a weaver, then as an apprentice to a Mr. Harbut, house-painter and decorator.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1824 he was engaged as a scene-painter at the Theatre Royal, Glasgow, and married Susannah Smyllie, who bore him five sons and two daughters. The theatre failing, he spent two years at Mauchline, painting snuff boxes, and then moved to London, where he made the acquaintance of artists David Roberts and Clarkson Stanfield, and obtained employment as a scene-painter at the Queen's Theatre (now demolished) on Charlotte Street. He had some lessons from Copley Fielding, and was employed by Mr. Anderden, a stockbroker, to make drawings for a work he was writing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter exhibiting two drawings at the Society of British Artists in 1832, he travelled to the continent in 1833, passing through the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland to Italy. While in Venice he met and became friends with the Hungarian painter, Miklós Barabás; They toured and painted in the Lago Maggiore region in 1834, and Leitch was a great influence on Barabás's future work. After an absence of four years, during which Leitch supported himself mainly by teaching, and had visited the principal cities of Italy, and made numerous sketches there and in Sicily, he returned to London in July 1837.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe now devoted himself almost entirely to teaching and working in watercolours. He had great success as a teacher and could count many members of the aristocracy amongst his pupils. He was introduced to Queen Victoria by Lady Canning and became the drawing master to her majesty and the royal family for 22 years. The Princess of Wales was his last pupil.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeitch exhibited occasionally at the Royal Academy between 1841 and 1861, but in 1862 was elected a member of the Institute of Painters in Watercolours (RI). From that time he contributed regularly to its exhibitions and did not exhibit elsewhere. He served as the society's vice-president for 20 years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeitch died in April 1883 at his home in St. John's Wood.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"scotland-1840-david-roberts-1796-1864-et-al-64-images","title":"Scotland 1840 - David Roberts, William Leitch et al - 64 images","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis early book was illustrated by David Roberts and other artists such as William Leitch, George Cattermole, Horatio MacCulloch, Clarkson Stanfield, James Duffield Harding and more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis download features 64 hi-res images, in jpeg format, that are 300dpi and range in size from 1948 pixels wide\/tall to 3920 pixels wide\/tall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pictures are out of copyright and in the public domain, so you are free to use them in whatever way you'd like, including commercial use.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRead more about \u003ca title=\"David Roberts\" href=\"https:\/\/publicdomainimagelibrary.com\/collections\/roberts-david\"\u003eDavid Roberts\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/publicdomainimagelibrary.com\/collections\/leitch-william-leighton\" title=\"William L. Leitch\"\u003eWilliam L. Leitch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Digital Download - 64 images","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51025155162442,"sku":null,"price":2.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0776\/7965\/7290\/files\/Leitch_WilliamL._1804-1883_-Scotland1840_main.jpg?v=1751629727"},{"product_id":"queen-victoria-collection-60-images","title":"Queen Victoria Collection - 60 High Resolution Images","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQueen Victoria, born Alexandrina Victoria on 24 May 1819, was the only child of Edward, Duke of Kent, and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. Ascending to the British throne at the age of eighteen in 1837, she became one of the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarchs, ruling for 63 years until her death in 1901. Her reign, known as the Victorian era, was marked by significant social, political, and industrial change, as well as the expansion of the British Empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVictoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, in 1840. The couple had nine children, whose marriages helped connect most of Europe’s royal families. Deeply devoted to Albert, Victoria was profoundly affected by his death in 1861 and mourned him for the rest of her life, often withdrawing from public view.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite personal challenges, Victoria played a crucial role as a symbol of stability and continuity during a period of immense transformation. Her influence extended far beyond Britain, shaping global perceptions of monarchy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur 60-image collection includes portraits of Victoria, Prince Albert and their children as well as pictures of their places of residence. There are four pictures painted by Queen Victoria herself.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eArtists include:-\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGeorge Hayter (1792-1871) - 3 images\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEdwin Landseer (1802-1873) - 2 images\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWilliam Leitch (1804-1883) - 2 images\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJoseph Nash (1809-1878) - 3 images\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQueen Victoria (1819-1901) - 4 images\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJames Roberts (c.1800-1867) - 4 images\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFranz Winterhalter (1805-1873) - 19 images\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eAnd lots more!\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eClick on the link above to see a full list of all the pictures included in the download, including their sizes.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThis download features 60 hi-res images, in jpeg format. The images are all 600dpi and range in size from 3052 pixels wide\/tall to 7668 pixels wide\/tall.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe pictures are out of copyright and in the public domain, so you are free to use them in whatever way you’d like, including commercial use.\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Digital Download - 60 images","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52945505943882,"sku":null,"price":4.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0776\/7965\/7290\/files\/Queen_Victoria_Collection_-_60_images_3cffa8ab-1ede-4d1c-9076-cc1b92b2f72d.jpg?v=1759521752"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0776\/7965\/7290\/collections\/Leitch_William_L._1804-1883-184281.jpg?v=1749646471","url":"https:\/\/www.publicdomainimagelibrary.com\/collections\/leitch-william-leighton.oembed","provider":"Public Domain Image Library","version":"1.0","type":"link"}