Sara Leighton

Last updated

Sara Leighton (born 1937) is an English society portrait painter, author, actress and personality, also noted for her beauty.

Contents

Life and work

Sara Leighton was born as Shirley Lorimer in London in 1937, the sister of actress Carole Lorimer. Her ambition was to become a painter since she was old enough to hold a brush, and this she pursued under the tutelage of Pietro Annigoni. [1] She stated that 'Annigoni gave me the heart to fight for a career when the cards of my sex, youth and country of origin were neatly stacked against me... he was a strict disciplinarian.' [2] In her youth she acted in numerous TV and film roles under both her birth name, Shirley Lorimer and her assumed name Sara Leighton.

Leighton quickly found considerable success in portrait painting, becoming highly sought after by rich and influential society figures who were eager for her to paint their likeness. One of her most famous commissions was the Queen Mother. Leighton stated that she was also her favourite subject 'something goes on when she enters a room... the Queen Mother is genuinely so kind and has a way of making you feel you are the important one, not her.' Helen Cathcart, the Queen Mother's biographer noted that 'preparing a fresco, a younger artist, Sara Leighton, preferred to eschew formal sittings and was permitted to follow the Queen Mother with a sketchbook,' [3] One of these sketches was later made into a popular limited edition print, published by the House of Questa, London in an edition of 2,500.

1963 saw Leighton establishing the company London Portrait's LTD in order to administer the increasing demand for her work. [4] The following year, Leighton was badly injured in a car accident near Tunbridge Wells, receiving facial injuries and leg fractures. Also involved in the accident was Keith Waters her husband, and the famous American female bullfighter Sandra Landry who had flown to England to have her portrait painted by Leighton. [5]

In November, 1971 it was reported in the Toledo Blade that Muhammad Ali was to have his portrait painted by Sara Leighton, however according to the Boca Raton News in October 1981, Leighton declined his request as well as that of Elizabeth Taylor. [6] She justified the reasons for her decision, stating 'when I paint I must have total concentration. Although they would make lovely subjects, I can not paint in a three-ring circus. There was too much activity around them at the time I was propositioned to paint.' [7]

In 1972, she travelled to South America in search of the Jaguar, the resulting painting being donated to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The painting Storm over the Veldt was donated to the Worldlife Fund on its 10th anniversary, with the proceeds from reproduction rights going to the fund. [8]

In the mid-1970s she lived in Bahrain, taking a flat in the National Bank of Bahrain Building, Manama, overlooking the then dhow harbour.

Leighton was also controversially outspoken in regards to her sex, rejecting the rising feminist discourse prevalent at the time. In 1962 at the age of 26, she founded (perhaps satirically) The Society for the Protection of Utter Femininity. The society's aims were to encourage women to give up the vote and stop trying to compete with men in business - she quipped to the press, 'A woman should stay in the home...my ex-husband agrees with me.' [9] She later stated that "Chopin was right when he said that all creative energy is sexual. He was writing a letter and he said something like: 'and when I think my darling, of how many sonatas I have poured into you.' That's why I don't think there have been great women painters." [10]

Sara Leighton was also famed for her beauty, Pietro Annigoni once labelled her 'the most beautiful woman in the world'. [11] The British newsreader Jan Leeming recalled 'I thought salvation, or an answer to my dilemma would come in the shape of a job in the north of England. I'd been to an audition for a news reading position with Granada Television in Manchester. I vividly remember walking into a room where other hopefuls were sitting. My heart sank when I looked at one stunningly beautiful woman and thought I hadn't got a chance. She was a painter called Sara Leighton, who went on to relative acclaim. To my surprise, she didn't get the job, I did. I can only think it was because I already had experience of news reading and the others hadn't.' [12]

In 1973 it was reported that Sara Leighton had bought a 40-room monastery in Tuscany, Italy, and intended to turn it into a sanctuary for writers, musicians, artists, as paying guests. [13]

Leighton increasing became a media personality, appearing regularly on talk and panel shows including Parkinson , which brought with it her fair share of press attention. In 1975

1980 saw Leighton publish her autobiography titled Of Savages and Kings, which recounts her adventures around the world with the diverse and interesting people that were part of her exciting life. She recalls her encounters with many of her clients and friends including Lord Olivier, The Prince of Wales, Muhammad Ali, Sheikh Yamani, Gloria Swanson, Pietro Annigoni, Sir Roger Moore, Jean Rook, David Niven, Shirley Bassey, Joan Collins, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Princess Royal and the Beaverbrook family. [14]

Sara Leighton's work is scarce, owing to the majority being commissioned portraits still in the possession of the patrons. In November 2005, Female clown on trapeze - a pencil and watercolour drawing - and one of the few works to appear on the market, sold at Christie's, King Street London for £384. [15]

Exhibitions

Books

(illustrated by Sara Leighton)

(written by Sara Leighton)

(Written and illustrated by Sara Leighton) The Naughty Greedy Pandamoth ( The Book Guild 2015 )

Film and television

(credited as Shirley Lorimer)

(credited as Sara Leighton)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun</span> French portrait painter (1755–1842)

Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, also known as Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun or simply as Madame Le Brun, was a French painter who mostly specialized in portrait painting, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella Vine</span> English artist

Stella Vine is an English artist, who lives and works in London. Her work is figurative painting, with subjects drawn from personal life, as well as from rock stars, royalty, and other celebrities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pietro Annigoni</span> Italian painter (1910–1988)

Pietro Annigoni, OMRI was an Italian artist, portrait painter, fresco painter and medallist, best known for his painted portraits of Queen Elizabeth II. His work was in the Renaissance tradition, contrasting with the modernist style that prevailed in his time.

Francis Dennis Ramsay, known as Dennis Ramsay, was a Scottish portrait painter, trained in London and Paris, who worked mainly in Australia in the classical tradition.

David Charles Bierk was an American-Canadian realist painter known for working in the postmodern genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley Jaffe (artist)</span> American painter (1923-2016)

Shirley Jaffe was an American abstract painter. Her early work is of the gestural abstract expressionist style, however in the late 1960s she changed to a more geometric style. This change was initially received with caution by the art world, but later in her career she was praised for the "idiosyncratic" and individual nature of her work. She spent most of her life living and working in France.

Bryan Organ is a British artist considered one of the leading and most innovative English portrait painters of the 20th century. His paintings have included portraits of prominent public figures and of members of the British royal family. Organ is also known for landscape paintings, such as St Pancras Station,, and lithographic studies of animals (Tate). London's National Portrait Gallery holds a total of sixteen of his portraits of which six were commissioned by the Gallery's Trustees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishmongers' Hall</span> Building in London, headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers

Fishmongers' Hall is a Grade II* listed building adjacent to London Bridge. It is the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, one of the 111 livery companies of the City of London. The Hall is situated in Bridge Ward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artists of the Tudor court</span> Painters and limners engaged by the Tudor dynasty between 1485 and 1603

The artists of the Tudor court are the painters and limners engaged by the monarchs of England's Tudor dynasty and their courtiers between 1485 and 1603, from the reign of Henry VII to the death of Elizabeth I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zsuzsi Roboz</span> Hungarian artist (1929–2012)

Zsuzsi Roboz was a London-based Hungarian painter known for her portraiture paintings and paintings of the arts. Her work is in public galleries including the Tate Britain and The National Portrait Gallery.

Allison Lefcort is an American pop art painter who has made works of rock stars, singers, political figures and Disney characters. Some of her more notable subjects are Hillary Clinton, Jim Morrison, Melissa Etheridge, Hugh Hefner, Ellen DeGeneres, and King Hussein of Jordan. Her work is influenced by Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.

<i>Portrait of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge</i> 2012 painting by Paul Emsley

Portrait of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is the first official portrait of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. It was unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery, London, on 11 January 2013. Paul Emsley was commissioned to paint the Duchess after being selected from a shortlist by Catherine herself. Catherine had announced the National Portrait Gallery as one of her official patronages in January 2012. Emsley took 15 weeks to complete the painting, which was presented to the trustees of the gallery in November 2012. The Duchess, contrary to considerable criticism in the art world, highly praised the portrait after viewing it initially in a private family gathering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pietro Annigoni's portraits of Elizabeth II</span> Three portraits of Queen Elizabeth II, painted between 1954 and 1972

Pietro Annigoni completed a number of portraits of Queen Elizabeth II between 1954 and 1972. In 1955, he painted her for the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers and in 1969 for the National Portrait Gallery. The two portraits were united for the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition; The Queen: Art and Image, held to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. In 1972, Annigoni completed a circular drawing of the Queen and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to mark their silver wedding anniversary.

<i>Queen Elizabeth II</i> (painting) 2016 painting by Henry Ward

Queen Elizabeth II is a 2016 painting of the British monarch by British-Canadian artist Henry Ward. Its full title is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the Founder of the British Red Cross Henri Dunant. Painted in secret in Canada, it was unveiled by the Queen at Windsor Castle that October and commemorated the Queen's 60-year role as the patron of the British Red Cross.

<i>Diana, Princess of Wales</i> (Bryan Organ portrait) 1981 painting by Bryan Organ

Diana, Princess of Wales is a 1981 painting of Diana, Princess of Wales, by the British artist Bryan Organ. It was commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in London following Diana's engagement to Charles, Prince of Wales, in February 1981 while the gallery was under the directorship of John Hayes. It presently hangs as part of the National Portrait Gallery's permanent collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances C. Fairman</span> English painter (1839–1923)

Frances Caroline Fairman was a British watercolourist, a painter in oils, and an illustrator. In her lifetime she was best known for her canine portraits, some of which were commissioned by royalty and aristocracy. She was known as "the Lady Landseer" for the quality of her work. She travelled to the Americas, France, and Switzerland, returning with watercolour landscape sketches.

Giancarlo Dughetti was an Italian miniature painter.

Hilda Fearon (1878–1917) was a British artist of the St Ives School.

<i>Conversation Piece at the Royal Lodge, Windsor</i> Painting by Sir James Gunn

Conversation Piece at the Royal Lodge, Windsor is an oil-on-canvas painting by Herbert James Gunn. It is part of the collection of the National Portrait Gallery (NPG) in London. The painting depicts King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and their daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, taking tea in the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park. It was commissioned by the NPG in 1950.

Sir Hugh Frank John Leggatt was a British art dealer and patron. He was the senior partner in the gallery Leggatt Brothers, and art dealer to members of the Royal Family, including Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. Leggatt financed the National Portrait Gallery's commission of the first official portrait of The Princess of Wales.

References

  1. ↑ Boca Raton News, October 18th, 1981
  2. ↑ Boca Raton News, October 18th, 1981
  3. ↑ Cathcart, Helen. The Queen Mother Herself (W.H.Allen, 1979)
  4. ↑ British Journal of Photography, Volume 110, p.229
  5. ↑ Sarasota Herald-Tribune, April 19th, 1964
  6. ↑ Toledo Blade, November 13th, 1971
  7. ↑ Boca Raton News, October 18th, 1981
  8. ↑ Boca Raton News, October 18th, 1981
  9. ↑ Daytona Beach Morning Journal, September 2nd, 1962
  10. ↑ Attallah, Naim. Women (1987)
  11. ↑ Leighton, Sara. Of Savages and Kings (Bachman and Turner, 1980)
  12. ↑ Leeming, Jan. Addicted to Love: an Autobiography
  13. ↑ Sarasota Journal, April 5th, 1973
  14. ↑ Leighton, Sara. Of Savages and Kings (Bachman and Turner, 1980)
  15. ↑ A View Over Eaton Square, A Private Collection, Christie's, November 10th, 2005
  16. ↑ House & Garden, Vol 51, (1996)
  17. ↑ Art Books 1980-1984: Including an International Index of Current and Ceased Serial Publications. (1985). United Kingdom: Bowker. p268

Other sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.