Barbara Leighton (Barleigh)

Canadian [1911-1986]

Alberta Society of Artists, Society of Canadian Painter-Etchers and Engravers

Barbara Mary Harvey was born in Plymouth, England, in 1909. After her family moved to Alberta, she attended the Provincial Institute of Design and Technology in Calgary in 1930, where she met Alfred (A. C.) Leighton, her instructor and school’s director. They were married in the early morning of Sunday, May 31, 1931 and their honeymoon was spent packing into the Kananaskis area to paint.

After their marriage, Barbara Leighton continued to create woodblock prints and manage her husband’s career as well. She was elected to the Canadian Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in 1941, and belonged to the Alberta Society of Artists.

In 1941 the Leightons bought a farm in Chilliwack, BC and then built a house in Crescent Beach, near Vancouver. Barbara exhibited a colour woodblock print with the B.C. Society of Fine Arts in their annual exhibition in 1942.  A.C. Leighton felt the West Coast was too temperate for a landscape painter, so they moved back to Alberta, buying a house in Calgary.

In 1960, A. C. Leighton’s health began to deteriorate rapidly. They made a trip back to England for medical inquiries about his stomach ailment, but A. C. Leighton died in 1965 after his long illness.

Not wanting to sit around and feel sorry for herself, Barbara Leighton enrolled at Alberta College of Art and Design. In her mid-fifties, she received a diploma in fiber and metal crafts, and for two years won scholarships in Visual Arts.

For extra income after her husband’s death, Barbara composed linocuts and woodcuts entirely from works by her husband, tracing his work and then making a number of woodblocks for colours. She usually produced editions of 100, and she produced a very limited amount of images, (perhaps fewer than 25 in all). She signed her work “Barleigh”, a combination of her given name (Barbara) and her married surname (Leighton) and labelled each print “Block print from the original painting by A.C. Leighton, cut and printed by Barleigh.”

In 1970, Barbara turned her home in the Calgary Foothills into a gallery featuring the work of her husband and his contemporaries and a craft centre for artists and a teaching facility for children. The complex grew over the years and is now known as the Leighton Art Centre which is operated by a foundation established by Barbara in 1974.

In 1984, Barbara received the Alberta Achievement Award for her contribution to Alberta’s arts.

Barbara Leighton died in 1986.

Barbara Leighton with some girl photo

A Few Notable Results from Hodgins Art Auctions from Barbara Leighton

Barbara Leighton

MORAINE LAKE
colour woodcut on paper; ed. #83/100
12 x 14.5 in.

Sold for $ 2,632.50 – November 2020
A record price at auction for the artist

Barbara Harvey Leighton

EVENING, BOW LAKE
colour woodcut on paper; ed. #69/100
11.75 x 14.5 in.

Sold for $ 1,989 – September 2020

Barbara Harvey Leighton

MOUNT ASSINIBOINE
colour woodcut on paper; ed. #19/100
11 x 14.5 in.

Sold for $ 1,638 – November 2020

Barbara Harvey Leighton

BOW LAKE
colour woodcut on paper; ed. #96/100
11.75 x 14.5 in.

Sold for $ 1,495 – November 2007

Barbara Harvey Leighton

EVENING, BOW LAKE
colour woodcut on paper; ed.#23/100
11.75 x 14.75 in.

Sold for $ 1,440 – May 2019

Barbara Harvey Leighton

MOUNT EISENHOWER
colour woodcut on paper; ed. #33/100
12.75 x 16 in.

Sold for $ 1,380 – November 2007

We are always seeking works by Barbara Harvey Leighton (Barleigh) to be included in future auctions.

If you are interested in selling with us, or wish to get our opinion of the value of your artworks, please contact us for an appointment to evaluate your artwork for auction.

Alternately, you can easily submit details of your artworks through our Request of Auction Estimates form.

More Extensive Results from our Previous Auctions for Barbara Leighton

570.00
Price Realized: $

Artist: Barbara Harvey Leighton

Title: DEER, KANANASKIS

Medium: colour woodcut on paper, ed. #25/100

Dimensions: 10.25 x 10 in. (26 x 25.4 cm)

Notes:

signed, titled and editioned in pencil
Note: Alternately titled “Deer, Winter”.

300.00
Estimate:
500.00
 - 

LOT: 233

Auction: 2024 September - Prices Realized

720.00
Price Realized: $

Artist: Barbara Harvey Leighton

Title: MOUNT ASSINIBOINE

Medium: colour woodcut on paper; ed. #51/100

Dimensions: 11 x 14.75 in. (27.9 x 37.5 cm)

Notes:

signed, titled and editioned in pencil

400.00
Estimate:
700.00
 - 

LOT: 232

Auction: 2024 September - Prices Realized

360.00
Price Realized: $

Artist: Barbara Harvey Leighton

Title: RANGE GOSSIP

Medium: colour woodcut on paper; ed. of 100

Dimensions: 11.25 x 15 in. (28.6 x 38.1 cm)

Notes:

Note: This print is illustrated on pages 94 and 115 of “Images of the Land – Canadian Block Prints 1919-1945” (Patricia Ainslie; Glenbow-Alberta Institute; 1984) and on page 101 of “Printmaking in Alberta, 1945-1985” (Bente Reed Cochrane; University of Alberta Press; 1989).

400.00
Estimate:
700.00
 - 

LOT: 70

Auction: 2024 June - Prices Realized

420.00
Price Realized: $

Artist: Barbara Harvey Leighton

Title: MT. FAY, MORAINE LAKE_x000D_

Medium: colour woodcut on paper; ed. #47/100

Dimensions: 12.5 x 15.75 in. (31.8 x 40 cm)

Notes:

signed, titled & editioned in pencil

500.00
Estimate:
700.00
 - 

LOT: 195

Auction: 2023 December | Hodgins Art Auctions

450.00
Price Realized: $

Artist: Barbara Harvey Leighton

Title: MOUNT EISENHOWER_x000D_

Medium: colour woodcut on paper; ed. #67/100

Dimensions: 12.75 x 16.25 in. (32.4 x 41.3 cm)

Notes:

signed, titled & editioned in pencil

500.00
Estimate:
700.00
 - 

LOT: 196

Auction: 2023 December | Hodgins Art Auctions

431.25
Price Realized: $

Artist: Barbara Harvey Leighton

Title: COOL WATER

Medium: colour woodcut on paper; ed. #10/100

Dimensions: 11 3/4 x 14 3/4 in.

500.00
Estimate:
700.00
 - 

LOT: 255

Auction: 2005 November | Hodgins Art Auctions

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Since 1983, Hodgins Art Auctions is your trusted source for buying and selling art by Barbara Harvey Leighton (Barleigh) and other important Canadian artists.

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