William Robinson Leigh

William Robinson Leigh (September 23, 1866 – March 11, 1955) was an American artist and illustrator.

Quotes

• Never in the whole of human history at any time or anywhere has there been a terrain more suitable for the making of pictures and telling of stories than our own West.
  • "Crazy over Horses". TIME Magazine. 61 (16): 78. April 20, 1953.
• [Absinthe-drinking] ate away the brains of the French aristocracy and brought vulgar folk into control of the salons and everything else.
  • On the decline of modern art. In "Crazy over Horses". TIME Magazine. 61 (16): 78. April 20, 1953.
• You start with a detailed charcoal drawing and then paint over that—the most distant thing first. If there are no clouds, the sky may take no more than a day. The distant figures may be done in a week. It gets more difficult as you approach the foreground—a large canvas may take four to six months altogether— but the most economical way is to finish as you go. At least that's what / was taught.
  • "Painter on Horseback". TIME Magazine. 51 (18): 55. May 3, 1948.
• It is not how a picture is painted that matters, it is what you paint. Some modern artists have sunk to imbecility, not pitiable imbecility but vicious imbecility.
  • On modern art. "Nature Painter". TIME Magazine. 37 (10): 66. March 10, 1941.
• The worst thing the Government could have done for the nation was to allow these thousands of dub painters to put those frightful abortions called murals all over the country, especially in schools where the nation's children are brought up on them. The only thing it can lead to is insanity.
  • On WPA art. "Nature Painter". TIME Magazine. 37 (10): 66. March 10, 1941.