Alfred Crocker Leighton (1901-1965)

 

Family Links Spouses/Children: Barbara Mary Harvey Alfred Crocker Leighton 2 Born: 27 Oct 1901, Hastings, Sussex, England 3 Marriage: Barbara Mary Harvey on 31 May 1931 in St. Stephen's Church, Calgary, Alberta 1 Died: 1965, Calgary, Alberta aged 64 Buried: Millarville, Alberta   General Notes: Leighton Art Centre, Gallery & Museum, 15 km South of Calgary, Alberta, near Millarville. In 1924, the CPR hired young Alfred Crocker (A.C.) Leighton to paint landscapes that featured their Canadian hotels and steam trains to market their services. A.C. enthusiastically packed his bags and art supplies and went as far west as Calgary and the Rocky Mountains. He was inspired by the beauty of the landscape and was prolific in producing watercolour and oil paintings of these scenes, which appeared on promotion posters, postcards, and other items for the CPR. He eventually moved to Calgary where he and Barbara not only established their own artistic presence but also influenced development of the art community in Alberta. Alfred married Barbara Mary Harvey, son of Henry (Harry) Anthony Harvey and Mary Florence Turpin, on 31 May 1931 in St. Stephen's Church, Calgary, Alberta.3 (Barbara Mary Harvey was born in 1909 in Plymouth, Devonshire, England 4 5 6 7.)

1 Leighton Art Centre, Millarville, Alberta. The early years
Alfred Crocker Leighton was born in Hastings, Sussex, on October 27, 1901. At a young age A.C. Leighton showed an aptitude for drawing but he went on to study architecture, rather than art as his father wished, at the Bradssey Institute, Hasting's Municipal School of Art.

In 1917 A.C. Leighton enlisted illegally in the Royal Flying Corps, where he was underage. In 1918 during a training flight, his airplane crashed after hitting some power lines and he sustained injuries that would plague him for the rest of his life.

In 1924 A.C. Leighton and a partner constructed a working scale model of the port of Liverpool. This model impressed the executives of the Canadian Pacific Company and they employed Leighton full time for its public relations ventures abroad -- not only in Canada, but to the Canadian Rockies.

The Leightons come to Canada
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 at St. Stephen's Church in Calgary 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.

In 1941 the Leightons moved to a farm in Chilliwack, British Columbia and then built a house in Crescent Beach, near Vancouver.

more.... more here..

In 1974 with the support of her friends, Barbara officially opened the Leighton Centre. The Centre had quickly become a gathering place for budding and professional artists and children. Many had come to discover their artistic talents by exploring the beauty found in the Leightons' home and surrounding fields. Barbara turned her home into a gallery and museum so that she could exhibit A.C.'s paintings, as well as works by other prominent Alberta artists such as Stan Perrott, Barbara Ballachey, Jim and Marion Nichol, Rick Grandmaison, Janet Mitchell, Roland Gissing, lllingworth Kerr, and sculptor Richard Roenisch.

2 Donald Wilson, personal knowledge, 2015.

3 Leighton Art Centre, Millarville, Alberta.

4 1919 passenger list: S S Tunisian, London to Montreal, arrival 5 Oct 1919. 1919 passenger list: "S S Tunisian", London to Montreal, arrival 5 Oct 1919
page 3

Harvey, Mary F, female, age 34, married, been in Canada before, where: Calgary, Country of birth: England, English, Destination: Calgary Alta, 1710?, 24th th,SW
", Norman, male, age 11, single, been in Canada before, where: Calgary, Country of birth: England, English, Destination Calgary, "
", Barbara, female, age 10, single, been in Canada before, where: Calgary, Country of birth: England, English, Destination Calgary, "
", Patricia, female, age 6, single, born, Canada, English, Destination: Calgary, "

5 1911 census, Plymouth, South West, Devon, England. 1911 census, Plymouth, South West, Devon, England

Mary Florence Harvey, Wife, female, age 26, married 4 years, total children born alive 2, still living 2, children who have died: [blank], birthplace, Plymouth, Devon,
Harry Norman George Harvey, Son, male, age [unreadable], born Plymouth, Devon
Barbara Mary Harvey, Daughter, female, age 2, born Plymouth, Devon

signed: M F Harvey,
postal address: 31 Derry Aven., Plymouth

6 1921 census, Calgary West, Calgary, Alberta. 1921 census, Calgary West, Calgary, Alberta
District 4, Subdistrict 45, page 7
family 81
Harvey, Harry Anthony, 2023 26th Ave, S.W., Head, male, married, age 35, born Eng, immigration 1906, Ch. of England, Land Examiner, C.P.R., $1700
", Mary Florence, 2023 26th, wife, female, married, age 36, born Eng, immigration 1906, Ch. of England
", Harry Norman G., son, male, single, age 13, born Eng , immigration 1906
", Barbara Mary, daughter, female, single, age 12, born Eng, immigration 1906
", Patricia Phylis, daughter, female, single, age 9, born Alberta
", James Benjamin, son, male, single, age 11?/12, born Alberta

7 FreeBMD index of GRO records, England. 1909 birth registration: Harvey, Barbara Mary, birth registered 1st qtr 1909, Plymouth, Devonshire, vol 5b, page 235