Clare Veronica Leighton (1898 – 1989) British wood engraver, stained glass designer, and writer. Clare Leighton is one of the most significant printmakers of the 20th century. She was born and studied in England but became an American in 1945. She wrote and illustrated numerous books and became well known for her focus on rural subjects in the face of an urbanised society. She had a great influence on many Canadian artists that are found in the AGGV collection. (Works – Clare Veronica Leighton – People – eMuseum)
Education
She studied wood engraving at the Slade School of Fine Art and the Brighton School of Art. Noel Rooke directed the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London.
Biography
Her wood engravings, which were primarily figurative and produced as fine art as well as illustrations for mass production. Her artwork was collected in a book that was published in 1930 and had an introduction by Hilaire Belloc. She contributed illustrations to several books, including Emily Brönte’s Wuthering Heights and The Farmer’s Years: a Calendar of English Husbandry (with her text and decorations). Country Matters and Four Hedges: a Gardener’s Chronicle (1935) (1937). She authored the books “Wood Engravings and Woodcuts” and “Wood Engravings of the 1930s” for The Studio.
During the late 1920s and 1930s, Leighton visited the United States on several lecture tours. At the onset of World War II, she moved to America. Initially, she lived on Long Island but later moved to Baltimore. In 1943, Leighton taught at Duke University, and in 1945, she became an American citizen. She eventually settled in Woodbury, Connecticut, where she worked until the late 1980s.”(“Clare Veronica Leighton”) She moved to the USA in 1939, creating several stained-glass windows and the 1951 collection of twelve engravings for Wedgwood plates.
Exhibitions
In 1939, she represented British wood engravers at the Venice Biennale. Her 1938 Picking Primroses wood engraving was displayed in the London Hayward Gallery’s “Thirties” exhibition in 1979–1980.
Sources
Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL
“Clare Veronica Leighton.” Artist Info, http://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.4639.html. Accessed 18 June 2023.
“Works – Clare Veronica Leighton – People – eMuseum.” Works – Clare Veronica Leighton – People – eMuseum, 1 Jan. 1946, aggv.ca/emuseum/people/3308/clare-veronica-leighton;jsessionid=590CBD44FCD1CC8852161EE141100A27/objects.
More on Female Designers
-
Frida Kahlo and the Tehuana Traditional Dress
Mexican painter Frida Kahlo’s choice to wear the Tehuana dress, a traditional attire from the Tehuantepec Isthmus, served as a multifaceted symbol. This garment encapsulated her cultural heritage, political ideology, individuality, femininity, and a means to signal her presence in the male-dominated art world.Read More →
-
Amy Corbett: Molding the Future of Lego Design
Amy Corbett, a senior design manager at Lego Group, transitioned from sustainable development work to toy design, shaping iconic Lego lines and appearing on TV show Lego Masters. Her diverse career highlights the broad opportunities within the design field.Read More →
-
Andrée Putnam (1925 – 2013), French Interior Designer
Andrée Putman was a French interior designer, furniture designer, and entrepreneur. She was born in Paris. Putman was probably best known internationally for her black and white palette, illustrated by the 1985 interior of Morgans Hotel in New York. It was commissioned by the entrepreneurs Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell.Read More →
-
Giorgina Castiglioni Italian Architect and Designer
Giorgina Castiglioni is an Italian architect and designer who studied architecture at Milan Polytechnic (1969). She is Giannino Castiglioni’s granddaughter, a famous sculptor, and the daughter of Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, an architect and professor. Read More →
-
Masterful Craftsmanship and Modern Ornamentation: The Legacy of Erna Zarges-Dürr, German Silversmith
Erna Zarges-Dürr (1907-2002) was a German silversmith. She was professionally active Pforzheim, Leipzig, Berlin. and Stuttgart. Between 1924-27, she trained at Bruckmann und Söhne, Heilbronn, as the first women in the silversmiths’ department. From 1927, she studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule, Pforzheim, under Theodor Wende and others. Read More →
-
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) blazing figure in a landscape
GEORGIA O’Keeffe, the acclaimed American painter and pioneer of modern art, lived long enough she was 98 when she died to see her work honoured as masterpieces in American museums. She continued to paint regularly well into her eighties until her eyesight began to fail, and she had to give up what she once called…
-
Helen Abson (b.1942) Australian Architect and Fabric Designer
Helen Abson, who trained as an architect, is an Australian designer. She pursued architecture for five years; founded ZAB Design where she designed fabrics that exhibited a preoccupation for texture achieved through pattern and colour.Read More →
-
Florence Koehler (1861 – 1944) American craftsperson and designer
Florence Koehler was an American artist, craftsperson, designer, and jeweller, professionally active in Chicago, London and Rome. She was one of the best-known jewellers of the Arts and Crafts movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In Chicago, Koehler’s jewellery in a crafts style was fashionable in artistic circles. Koehler became…
-
Edith Heath (1911 – 2005) Studio Potter to Industrial Designer
Edith Heath successfully transitioned from studio potter to industrial designer while maintaining a studio sensibility. Heath was a pioneering ceramic chemist who pioneered the use of mechanical and handmade production. Her work gained popularity in California and was recognized with industrial-design awards.Read More →
-
Lilly Reich (1885 – 1947) – German Interior Designer
Lilly Reich was a German interior designer and furniture and exhibition designer who studied embroidery and collaborated with Else Oppler-Legband. Reich’s professional relationship with Mies van der Rohe began with the 1927 ‘Weissenhof-Siedlung’ exhibition, and she designed interiors and furniture for the 1936 of Dr Facius in Berlin-Dahlem and 1939 furniture for Dr Schäppi’s apartment…
-
Revolutionary Style: Dame Mary Quant and the Iconic Swinging Sixties Fashion Movement
Mary Quant, a pivotal figure in British fashion design, studied art and design at Goldsmiths College of Art from 1952 to 1955 while also taking evening classes in clothing construction and cutting. In 1955, in Knightsbridge, London, she established her first shop Bazaar on King’s Road, followed by the second shop Terence Conran designed in…
-
Adelaide Robineau (1865 – 1929) an American Ceramicist
Adelaide Romineau was an American ceramicist she was born in Middletown, Connecticut. At the time, few women were involved in the technical aspects of ceramic production. It was considered appropriate for women to be decorators only, rather than to be part of more technical pursuits.Read More →
-
Jessie Marion King (1875 – 1949) Scottish illustrator of children’s books
Jessie Marion King (1875 – 1949) was a well-known Scottish illustrator who specialised in children’s books. She also painted pottery and crafted bookplates, jewellery, and fabric. King was a member of the Glasgow Girls, a collective of female artists.Read More →
-
Theo Moorman (1907 – 1990) British Weaver and Designer
Theo Moorman was a devoted artist with a lifetime of experience. She created her technique over a wide range of designs and textural combinations, exploring its potential. A new invention was every piece of work, and they were always full of vitality.Read More →
-
Patrizia Ranzo Italian architect and designer
Patrizia Ranzo is an Italian architect and designer. She was born and active in Naples. She studied architecture in Naples to 1981. Read More →
-
Cini Boeri Italian Furniture & Industrial Designer
She worked as an interior and furniture designer in the studio of Marco Zanuso, Milan, 1952—63. In 1963, she set up her studio, specializing in civil and interior architecture and industrial design. She was associated with ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale). In 1979, she formed Cini Boeri Associati, Milan. Read More →
-
Sibyl Colefax (1875 – 1950) British collector and interior designer
Sibyl Colefax was a prominent British collector, interior designer, and socialite active in 1930s London. She co-founded Colefax and Co. with John Fowler, creating detailed and uniquely colored interior designs.Read More →
-
Margaret Simeon (1910 – 1999) British Textile Designer
She worked as a freelance designer of garment and furnishings textiles. Allan Walton Textiles, Edinburgh Weavers, Campbell Fabrics, and Fortnum and Mason were among her clientele. She taught textile printing at the Royal College of Art.Read More →
-
Gere Kavanaugh American textile, industrial & interior designer
Kavanaugh worked for General Motors as a stylist, primarily designing exhibitions to demonstrate autos and creating displays, model kitchens, and interiors. She was one of the company’s first female designers, called the “Damsels of Design” by design director Harley Earl. Read More →
-
Damsels of Design – 1950s Industrial Designer
They played a significant role in establishing the credibility of women designers in a mainstream industrial context because they were fully trained in industrial design. They worked on the styling and detailing of household appliances and details for the Frigidaire Production Studio, in addition to their styling of GM car interiors and controls, as well…
-
Matali Crasset – French Product Designer
Matali Crasset – French Product Designer. Crasset’s childhood on a farm undoubtedly influenced her distinct design style. Read More… Read More →
-
In the Pink: Dorothy Draper – America’s Most Fabulous Decorator
Has there ever been an American decorator as famous as Dorothy Draper? Like Martha Stewart, Draper was a preacher andRead More →
-
5 Designing Women: Meet the First Ladies Of Malaysian Design
Since Breakfast Thieves, Liang has been busy with a wide variety of projects including more cafes and retail spaces, all showcasing her clean aesthetic and meticulously detailed hand. She’s also started her own range of stackable wooden furniture and home accessories.Read More →
-
The Women of the Bauhaus School – Artsy
The male icons of the Bauhaus—like Klee and Albers—are world-renowned. But the women artists who taught, studied, and made groundbreaking work with them are often remembered in history books as wives of their male counterparts or, worse, not at all.Read More →