William R. Leigh

William Robinson Leigh was renowned for his dramatic depictions of the American West. Born in West Virginia, he began formal art studies at age 14 at Baltimore’s Maryland Institute, then spent twelve years at Munich’s Royal Academy, earning multiple medals. Settling in New York by 1896, he worked as a magazine illustrator until a 1906 trip west, sponsored by Santa Fe Railroad, inspired his lifelong passion for Southwestern landscapes, Native Americans, cowboys, and wildlife.

Leigh’s paintings, often set against the vibrant light and color of the Rockies, Grand Canyon, and deserts, earned him the moniker “Sagebrush Rembrandt”. He produced hundreds of field sketches during summers in New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming and Yellowstone. In the 1920s, his work expanded to African wildlife for the American Museum of Natural History’s dioramas. Leigh was elected a National Academician shortly before his death in New York.