William John Leech
Encyclopedia
William John Leech was an Irish
painter
.
and studied under Walter Osborne
. In 1903, Leech left Dublin for Paris, where he would fall in love with the French landscape.
After he returned to Dublin from Brittany in 1906 he was soon embraced into the artistic circle of George Russell
(A.E.), Constance Gore-Booth and her husband Casimir Dunin Markievicz. He exhibited nearly seventy paintings with them in a group exhibition at the Leinster Lecture Hall in August 1907. In December 1909 Leech exhibited with Jack Yeats, Albert Power, Eva Hamilton, William Orpen
, Lily Williams, A.E., Constance Gore-Booth and Dermod O’Brien in the first Aonach art exhibition, organised by Sinn Féin
as part of the Irish Festival at the Rotunda.
On his return to France he married Elizabeth Saurin, a young painter of a similar style, in Concarneau
. They separated after just two years of marriage. Leech would travel throughout Europe and eventually settled in England
in 1919, with frequent visits to the South of France, to Marseilles, Grasse
and Cagnes-sur-Mer
.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
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...
.
Biography
Leech was born in Dublin and studied there at the Metropolitan School. He later transferred to the Royal Hibernian AcademyRoyal Hibernian Academy
The Royal Hibernian Academy is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823.-History:The RHA was founded as the result of 30 Irish artists petitioning the government for a charter of incorporation...
and studied under Walter Osborne
Walter Osborne
Walter Frederick Osborne was an Irish impressionist landscape and portrait painter. Most of his paintings featured women, children, and the elderly as well as rural scenes.-Career:...
. In 1903, Leech left Dublin for Paris, where he would fall in love with the French landscape.
After he returned to Dublin from Brittany in 1906 he was soon embraced into the artistic circle of George Russell
George William Russell
George William Russell who wrote under the pseudonym Æ , was an Irish nationalist, writer, editor, critic, poet, and painter. He was also a mystical writer, and centre of a group of followers of theosophy in Dublin, for many years.-Organisor:Russell was born in Lurgan, County Armagh...
(A.E.), Constance Gore-Booth and her husband Casimir Dunin Markievicz. He exhibited nearly seventy paintings with them in a group exhibition at the Leinster Lecture Hall in August 1907. In December 1909 Leech exhibited with Jack Yeats, Albert Power, Eva Hamilton, William Orpen
William Orpen
Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, KBE, RA, RHA was an Irish portrait painter, who worked mainly in London...
, Lily Williams, A.E., Constance Gore-Booth and Dermod O’Brien in the first Aonach art exhibition, organised by Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
as part of the Irish Festival at the Rotunda.
On his return to France he married Elizabeth Saurin, a young painter of a similar style, in Concarneau
Concarneau
Concarneau is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the mainland and the medieval Ville Close, a walled town on a long island in the centre of the harbour. Historically, the old town was a centre of shipbuilding...
. They separated after just two years of marriage. Leech would travel throughout Europe and eventually settled in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1919, with frequent visits to the South of France, to Marseilles, Grasse
Grasse
-See also:*Route Napoléon*Ancient Diocese of Grasse*Communes of the Alpes-Maritimes department-External links:*...
and Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer
Cagnes-sur-Mer is a commune of the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.-Geography:It is the largest suburb of the city of Nice and lies to the west-southwest of it, about from the center.-History:...
.