Noel Harry Leaver was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

.

Early life

Leaver was born at the School House in Austwick

Austwick

Austwick is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, about north west of Settle. The village is on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park....

, North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

 where his father Peter was a teacher. Soon after the family returned to Worsthorne

Worsthorne

Worsthorne is a rural village on the eastern outskirts of Burnley in Lancashire, England. The parish of Worsthorne-with-Hurstwood has a population of 2,986. The village was known as Worthesthorn in 1202, which means thorn tree of a man named 'Weorth'....

 near Burnley

Burnley

Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....

 in Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

. He was educated at St. James School and the Burnley School of Art. He won a National Scholarship to the Royal College of Art

Royal College of Art

The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...

 at age 16, receiving his full associateship at 21.

Work

Primarily a watercolourist, he was known for hot blue skies, often in contrast with shadowed buildings. He travelled widely across Europe and North Africa.

He also taught at the Halifax School of Art (1912–15) and then the Burnley School of Art until the mid 1930’s.