Hilton Leech
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Hilton Leech (1906-1969) was a master watercolorist. He was inventive and experimented with a variety of mediums and combined them with watercolor to advance the medium of watercolor beyond the purist esthetic. Leech mixed the rich quality of casein glazed with colored inks thus creating a range of textures. Then redefining opaqueness and transparency with a combination of stencils, watercolor and liquid plastics. His association with his instructors Arshile Gorky and George Pearce Ennis at the Grand Central Art School moved his career forward as Mr. Ennis hired him as his assistant. In 1931, they came to Sarasota to teach at the new Ringling Art School. Later, Ennis returned to New York and Leech continued to teach during the winter season at the Ringling School of Art and Design from 1931-36 and again from 1939-1945. After the war, Leech opened his own school in Sarasota, the Amagansett Art School on Hillview St. and in 1960 moved the school into their new Sarasota School of Architecture building designed by Jack West. Altogether, his time in Sarasota marks the most active period in his painting. |
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Résumé
Museums and Public Collections
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY;
High Museum, Atlanta, GA;
Museum of Art, Dallas,TX;
Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio;
Norton Museum, West Palm Beach, FL;
The Contemporary Art Collection at the University of Florida, Tallahassee, FL;
Museum of Art, Hickory, NC;
The Fine Arts Society of Sarasota, Sarasota, FL;
The Cooperstown Art Association, Cooperstown, NY;
The Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada;
Indianapolis Museum, Indianapolis, IN;
Tides Institute & Museum of Art, Eastport, ME;
Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY;
Show Folks of Sarasota, FL;
Florida Maritime Museum of Cortez, FL;
Richmond Art Museum, Richmond, IN
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C
Awards
American Watercolor Society purchase prize
Audubon Society of Artists Casein Award
Morse Medal at the National Academy of Design
Knickerbocker Artists Medal of Honor and Gold Medal of Honor
Allied Artists Association, New York.
He was a member of the American Watercolor Society, the American Federation of Art, the Salmagundi Club, the Florida Artist Group and Watercolor US