Percy Leason
Encyclopedia
Percy Alexander Leason (23 February 1889 – 11 September 1959) was an Australia
n artist
who was a major figure in the Australian tonalist
movement. As a painter and commercial artist his works span two continents.
farm district in the town of Kaniva, Victoria
, Australia in 1889. His father was the proprietor of a saddlery shop. His parents had expected he would carry on the family tradition of wheat farming or saddlery making. In his adolescent years he demonstrated an early interest in drawing. His earliest works of 1900 were landscapes, still life
studies, and portrait
s of himself and his mother and father. In 1906 he was apprenticed as a lithographer
at Sands and McDougall Lithographers, in Melbourne
. He soon transferred to the art department where he did illustrations for jam tin labels and department store advertisements. His first major illustration was a poster for Carlton Brewery in Melbourne of Sam Griffis, an itinerant miner, standing at a bar with a full pint. The caption of the poster "I allus has wan at Eleven", became a famous trademark for Foster beer
. During these years he studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School
under the tutelage of Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin
. Upon completing his apprenticeship he began a somewhat bohemian lifestyle and developed camaraderie with the Melbourne artists such as Jock (William) Frater, Hal Guye, Frank R. Crozier and others and associated himself with the Victorian Artists Society
. Paintings of this period included life figures for the Shakespeare tercentenary and portraits of fellow artists Richard McCann
, and Harry McClellan.
, now in the War Memorial Museum in Canberra
. In 1916 he painted a series of canvases of the Sturt
expedition into the interior of Australia. The largest of these “Out of Food and Water”, depicting the desperate situation of the expedition, is in the National Library of Australia in Canberra. In 1918 he illustrated for a book of poems by Henry Lawson
, notable Australian poet. With additional book illustration his reputation as an illustrator secured him a position as chief designer with the commercial publishing firm of Smith and Julius. Sydney Ure Smith
publishers and he moved to Sydney. Here he worked as a commercial artist and illustrated commercial advertisements, and also illustrated for Home magazine. He served on the staff of the Sydney Bulletin as political cartoonist, replacing David Low. He became interested in etchings and joined the Sydney Society of Artists and the Painters and Etchers Society and associated himself with Sydney
’s contemporary artists . In 1918 his paintings and etchings were purchased by The Art Gallery of New South Wales
, Sydney. Julian Ashton
praised Leason’s work in the magazine Art In Australia, in an article on what he considered a good picture (Art in Australia, 1919). “I have suggested nearly all his exhibits were notable, that being one where composition. value, form and color were most apparent particularly in “Mother and Child. The subject is as old as humanity, but Mr. Leason has been able to invest it with fresh interest. As in numerous works of the old masters, he has suggested the brooding mother but the turbulent young rascal in his mother’s lap strikes a note of reality which is frequently absent in depiction of the Holy child. The composition and drawing in this modern Mother and Child are charming, the tonality well observed and the color rich and luminous. Such a picture does not make an instantaneous appeal; it grows upon you with steady but ever increasing charm.” His paintings up to this point showed the influence of the darker tonality of the National Gallery School. In 1923 he was also represented in an exhibition of Australian artists at the Royal Academy in London. This same year he was recruited by Keith Murdock of the Melbourne Herald as chief staff artist. He returned to Melbourne and it was here that he developed the famous Wiregrass cartoon series. His illustrations also appeared in Melbourne Punch
and Tabletalk magazines. At that time he was the highest paid commercial artist in Australia. Returning to Melbourne he settled in the town of Eltham and built a home and one of the first art studios in Eltham entirely devoted to painting. Teaching class and entertaining the society of Melbourne as well as his artist cronies, the town developed into an artist colony. Among its residents who later became notable was Justus Jorgensen
of Montsalvat
.
In 1916 he had met Max Meldrum
who had returned from France
and expressed his ideas of tonal analysis. When Leason moved back to Melbourne from Sydney in 1924, the two men bonded their ideas and cemented the style of tonalism they both would follow for the rest of their lives. Leason’s articles in the press against contemporary art in support of Meldrum’s theory helped the cause. Participation in shows with Victorian Artists Society
in Melbourne further advanced his career as a painter.
In 1934 at the suggestion of Donald Thomson
and Professor Wood Jones he was commissioned by Melbourne University to paint a series of portraits of Australian Aborigines
. These were presented in an exhibition at the Athenaeum Gallery, and were his first one man major exhibition. These portraits demonstrated his understanding and control of the tonal technique. A great critical row developed and the portraits were questioned as to whether they were art or ethnographic studies. Critic Blamire Young
effectively squashed the artist and the portraits. In his article he asked visitors “to decide whether the portraits could be classed as an exhibition of works of art or’ as an ante-mortem analysis of a moribund race, painted more or less in expiation of our sins in something of the same spirit that in the past stirred ill-doers to undertake the laborious washing of pilgrim’s feet.” The exchanges continued for a considerable time but eventually the paintings were included in the State Library of Victoria
, Melbourne.
An inquisitive and active mind led to his questioning of the origins of an artist’s depiction of the visual image. He developed a keen interest in prehistoric cave art and advanced the theory that these artists made their drawings from sketches of dead beasts. This theory was published in the Journal of the Prehistoric Society of Great Britain England in 1939. Towards the end of the 1930's Leason became concerned with the dwindling prospects of continued employment as a commercial artist, the rivalry in the Melbourne art scene between modern art
and members of the Meldrum group, and the impending World War. Faced with the responsibility of a family of six children, he decided that his chances for continued success were better in the United States. He emigrated in 1938 and began his career in New York doing commercial illustration with pen and ink illustration of murder mysteries and detective stories, for the New York Daily News
, and Blue Book Magazine
. His first major book illustration in 1938 was "The Wizard of Oz
" by L. Frank Baum
. He joined the illustrating compliment of the Gilbert Thompkins studios in New York which led to illustrations in Colliers, Liberty and Saturday Evening Post magazines. He consequently became a member of the Society of Illustrators
of New York.
In 1939 his family emigrated from Australia and settled on Staten Island
, New York. Recognizing the opportunity to spread the word about tonal painting, he established his first painting school in New York City in 1941, and continued it on Staten Island until 1957. In 1942 he held his first exhibition at the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences. In 1943 he became the chairman and president of the art section. He developed an interest in art on Staten Island with the first of the outdoor art shows that continue to be a borough wide event. He also arranged the first annual Artist Carnival and increased the interest in the art section with annual exhibitions.
In the summer months of 1948 he taught painting and landscape at the Wayman Adams School in Elizabethtown, NY
in the Adirondack Mountains and at his own school in Westport NY
in 1949. He also served on the staff of the Westport, Connecticut
School of Commercial Art under the direction of Albert Dorne
. In 1944 M. Grumbacher published a time chart he had developed outlining the historical development of tonal analysis as it applied to artists from 1200 to the present. Titled “The Rise and Decline of Painting”, it traced the development of artists representation of the visual image and placed modernism at the bottom the chart. It was distributed through the Scholastic awards program and caused some concern among educational circles as well as kudos from supporters. At this time, the New York art world was going through great changes with interest in Modernism and Expressionism. He vehemently opposed these ideas and contributed openly to the critics in New York newspapers and the Staten Island Advance. The only associations that were hold outs for realistic painting during this period were the Salmagundi Club
, Allied Artists, and the American Artist Professional League. Leason became aligned with their members who felt the same way about the changing trends. He held lively painting demonstrations and lectures on realistic tonalism in defiance against the prevailing theories on art. During these years he painted many landscapes and studios studies, most of which are in the collection of the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum in Australia.
Associated with Portraits Incorporated, N.Y. he had the opportunity to paint some portraits of notoriety including Arlene Francis
, TV personality, and Congressman Dewey Short from Missouri and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, which is in the collection of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
A large portrait of Michael Engel, publicity director for M. Grumbacker art supplies won the Hollander prize in 1945 at the exhibition of Audubon Artists. In 1957 he traveled with his wife Isabel to France and England. He painted several tonal studies of Paris
and the countryside of the Dordogne
region which he visited in particular to justify his theory of cave art.
Percy Leason’s last one man exhibition was held at the Chase Galleries, NY where many of these European studies were on exhibit. In view of what was happening in the art world at this time, the exhibition received poor reviews. Arts Magazine stated that his paintings appeared to be nothing more than “numbered picture scenes”. He tried to sue the magazine but his failing health and lack of funds prevented this.
In 1959 he passed away on Staten Island New York, practically penniless and very despondent at not having received adequate recognition for his labors. Two retrospective exhibitions were held at the Staten Island Institute and at the Salmagundi Club New York. In tribute to his artistic genius, Staten Island Institute curator James Cogin, quoted in the exhibition catalog from Frank Moore Coolby: "Every man ought to be inquisitive every hour of his great adventure down to the day when he shall no longer cast a shadow in the sun. For if he dies without a question in his heart what excuse is there for his continuance." Percy Leason’s constant questioning of tonal technique as an ideal and his works he left are his legacy and his continuance.
-compiled from Artist of Modern Times, A Biography of Percy Leason by Max Leason, 2011. Unpublished.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
who was a major figure in the Australian tonalist
Australian Tonalism
Australian Tonalism was an art movement that emerged in Melbourne during the interwar period. Its main exponent was Max Meldrum, whose theory of building "tone on tone" and objective optical analysis led to the development of a unique style of painting characterized by a "misty" or atmospheric...
movement. As a painter and commercial artist his works span two continents.
Early life and training
Percy Leason was born in the remote wheatWheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
farm district in the town of Kaniva, Victoria
Kaniva, Victoria
Kaniva is a town in Victoria, Australia. It is located on the Western Highway, north of Little Desert National Park, in the Shire of West Wimmera local government area. It is located roughly 25km east of the South Australian border and 43km east of Bordertown. At the 2006 census, Kaniva had a...
, Australia in 1889. His father was the proprietor of a saddlery shop. His parents had expected he would carry on the family tradition of wheat farming or saddlery making. In his adolescent years he demonstrated an early interest in drawing. His earliest works of 1900 were landscapes, still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
studies, and portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s of himself and his mother and father. In 1906 he was apprenticed as a lithographer
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
at Sands and McDougall Lithographers, in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. He soon transferred to the art department where he did illustrations for jam tin labels and department store advertisements. His first major illustration was a poster for Carlton Brewery in Melbourne of Sam Griffis, an itinerant miner, standing at a bar with a full pint. The caption of the poster "I allus has wan at Eleven", became a famous trademark for Foster beer
Foster's Lager
Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of 5.0% abv pale lager, It is a product of Foster's Group brewed under licence in several countries, including the U.S. and Russia...
. During these years he studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School
National Gallery of Victoria Art School
The National Gallery of Victoria Art School , associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was founded in 1867. It was the leading centre for academic art training in Australia until about 1910. Among its luminaries, the school was headed by John Brack from 1962-68 and Sir William Dargie was...
under the tutelage of Bernard Hall and Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin was an Australian painter who was prominent in the Heidelberg School, one of the more important periods in Australia's visual arts history....
. Upon completing his apprenticeship he began a somewhat bohemian lifestyle and developed camaraderie with the Melbourne artists such as Jock (William) Frater, Hal Guye, Frank R. Crozier and others and associated himself with the Victorian Artists Society
Victorian Artists Society
Victorian Artists Society established in 1856 in Melbourne, Australia promotes artistic education and exhibition in Australia. Fore-runner of the Victorian Academy of Arts, founded in 1870. In 1888 the Australian Artist's Association amalgamated with the Victorian Academy of Arts to form the...
. Paintings of this period included life figures for the Shakespeare tercentenary and portraits of fellow artists Richard McCann
Richard McCann
Richard McCann is a writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. He lives in Washington, D.C., where he is a long-time professor in the A gay writer, he is the author of , a collection of linked stories that novelist Michael Cunningham has described as unbearably beautiful. It won the 2005 from...
, and Harry McClellan.
Career
His introduction to book illustration began in 1914 with illustrations for James.C. Hamilton, Pioneering Days in Western Victoria, followed by Here is Faery by Frank Wilmont in 1915. In 1916 he illustrated a booklet for the tercentenary celebrating William Shakespeare. The same year he painted a panoramic scene of the Australian & New Zealand Forces at GallipoliGallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
, now in the War Memorial Museum in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. In 1916 he painted a series of canvases of the Sturt
Charles Sturt
Captain Charles Napier Sturt was an English explorer of Australia, and part of the European Exploration of Australia. He led several expeditions into the interior of the continent, starting from both Sydney and later from Adelaide. His expeditions traced several of the westward-flowing rivers,...
expedition into the interior of Australia. The largest of these “Out of Food and Water”, depicting the desperate situation of the expedition, is in the National Library of Australia in Canberra. In 1918 he illustrated for a book of poems by Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson
Henry Lawson was an Australian writer and poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial period and is often called Australia's "greatest writer"...
, notable Australian poet. With additional book illustration his reputation as an illustrator secured him a position as chief designer with the commercial publishing firm of Smith and Julius. Sydney Ure Smith
Sydney Ure Smith
Sydney George Ure Smith was an Australian arts publisher and promoter who 'did more than any other Australian to publicize Australian art at home and overseas'....
publishers and he moved to Sydney. Here he worked as a commercial artist and illustrated commercial advertisements, and also illustrated for Home magazine. He served on the staff of the Sydney Bulletin as political cartoonist, replacing David Low. He became interested in etchings and joined the Sydney Society of Artists and the Painters and Etchers Society and associated himself with Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
’s contemporary artists . In 1918 his paintings and etchings were purchased by The Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
, Sydney. Julian Ashton
Julian Ashton
Julian Rossi Ashton was an Australian artist and teacher, known for his support of the Heidelberg School and for his influential art school in Sydney....
praised Leason’s work in the magazine Art In Australia, in an article on what he considered a good picture (Art in Australia, 1919). “I have suggested nearly all his exhibits were notable, that being one where composition. value, form and color were most apparent particularly in “Mother and Child. The subject is as old as humanity, but Mr. Leason has been able to invest it with fresh interest. As in numerous works of the old masters, he has suggested the brooding mother but the turbulent young rascal in his mother’s lap strikes a note of reality which is frequently absent in depiction of the Holy child. The composition and drawing in this modern Mother and Child are charming, the tonality well observed and the color rich and luminous. Such a picture does not make an instantaneous appeal; it grows upon you with steady but ever increasing charm.” His paintings up to this point showed the influence of the darker tonality of the National Gallery School. In 1923 he was also represented in an exhibition of Australian artists at the Royal Academy in London. This same year he was recruited by Keith Murdock of the Melbourne Herald as chief staff artist. He returned to Melbourne and it was here that he developed the famous Wiregrass cartoon series. His illustrations also appeared in Melbourne Punch
Melbourne Punch
Melbourne Punch was an Australian illustrated magazine founded by Edgar Ray and Frederick Sinnett, modelled closely on Punch of London which was founded just fifteen years earlier....
and Tabletalk magazines. At that time he was the highest paid commercial artist in Australia. Returning to Melbourne he settled in the town of Eltham and built a home and one of the first art studios in Eltham entirely devoted to painting. Teaching class and entertaining the society of Melbourne as well as his artist cronies, the town developed into an artist colony. Among its residents who later became notable was Justus Jorgensen
Justus Jorgensen
Justus Jorgensen was an Australian artist and architectHe was born in East Brighton, Melbourne. He was a student of Max Meldrum.He is best known for establishing the notorious artist colony Montsalvat, located in Eltham....
of Montsalvat
Montsalvat
Montsalvat is an artist colony in Eltham, Victoria, Australia, established by Justus Jorgensen in 1934. It is home to over a dozen buildings, houses and halls set amongst richly established gardens on 48,562 m2 of land...
.
In 1916 he had met Max Meldrum
Max Meldrum
Duncan Max Meldrum was a Scottish born Australian painter. He is known as the founder of Australian Tonalism, a representational style of painting, as well as his portrait work, for which he won the Archibald Prize in 1939 and 1940.-Early Life and Training:Meldrum was born in Edinburgh, Scotland,...
who had returned from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and expressed his ideas of tonal analysis. When Leason moved back to Melbourne from Sydney in 1924, the two men bonded their ideas and cemented the style of tonalism they both would follow for the rest of their lives. Leason’s articles in the press against contemporary art in support of Meldrum’s theory helped the cause. Participation in shows with Victorian Artists Society
Victorian Artists Society
Victorian Artists Society established in 1856 in Melbourne, Australia promotes artistic education and exhibition in Australia. Fore-runner of the Victorian Academy of Arts, founded in 1870. In 1888 the Australian Artist's Association amalgamated with the Victorian Academy of Arts to form the...
in Melbourne further advanced his career as a painter.
In 1934 at the suggestion of Donald Thomson
Donald Thomson
Donald Fergusson Thomson, OBE was an Australian anthropologist and ornithologist who was largely responsible for turning the Caledon Bay crisis into a "decisive moment in the history of Aboriginal-European relations." He is remembered as a friend of the Yolngu people, and as a champion of...
and Professor Wood Jones he was commissioned by Melbourne University to paint a series of portraits of Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
. These were presented in an exhibition at the Athenaeum Gallery, and were his first one man major exhibition. These portraits demonstrated his understanding and control of the tonal technique. A great critical row developed and the portraits were questioned as to whether they were art or ethnographic studies. Critic Blamire Young
Blamire Young
William Blamire Young , commonly known as Blamire Young, was an English Australian artist.-Early life:...
effectively squashed the artist and the portraits. In his article he asked visitors “to decide whether the portraits could be classed as an exhibition of works of art or’ as an ante-mortem analysis of a moribund race, painted more or less in expiation of our sins in something of the same spirit that in the past stirred ill-doers to undertake the laborious washing of pilgrim’s feet.” The exchanges continued for a considerable time but eventually the paintings were included in the State Library of Victoria
State Library of Victoria
The State Library of Victoria is the central library of the state of Victoria, Australia, located in Melbourne. It is on the block bounded by Swanston, La Trobe, Russell, and Little Lonsdale streets, in the northern centre of the central business district...
, Melbourne.
An inquisitive and active mind led to his questioning of the origins of an artist’s depiction of the visual image. He developed a keen interest in prehistoric cave art and advanced the theory that these artists made their drawings from sketches of dead beasts. This theory was published in the Journal of the Prehistoric Society of Great Britain England in 1939. Towards the end of the 1930's Leason became concerned with the dwindling prospects of continued employment as a commercial artist, the rivalry in the Melbourne art scene between modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
and members of the Meldrum group, and the impending World War. Faced with the responsibility of a family of six children, he decided that his chances for continued success were better in the United States. He emigrated in 1938 and began his career in New York doing commercial illustration with pen and ink illustration of murder mysteries and detective stories, for the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, and Blue Book Magazine
Blue Book (magazine)
Blue Book was a popular 20th-century American magazine with a lengthy 70-year run under various titles from 1905 to 1975.Launched as The Monthly Story Magazine, it was published under that title from May 1905 to August 1906 with a change to The Monthly Story Blue Book Magazine for issues from...
. His first major book illustration in 1938 was "The Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
" by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. He joined the illustrating compliment of the Gilbert Thompkins studios in New York which led to illustrations in Colliers, Liberty and Saturday Evening Post magazines. He consequently became a member of the Society of Illustrators
Society of Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. Founded in 1901, the mission of the Society is to promote the art and appreciation of illustration, as well as its history...
of New York.
In 1939 his family emigrated from Australia and settled on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York. Recognizing the opportunity to spread the word about tonal painting, he established his first painting school in New York City in 1941, and continued it on Staten Island until 1957. In 1942 he held his first exhibition at the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences. In 1943 he became the chairman and president of the art section. He developed an interest in art on Staten Island with the first of the outdoor art shows that continue to be a borough wide event. He also arranged the first annual Artist Carnival and increased the interest in the art section with annual exhibitions.
In the summer months of 1948 he taught painting and landscape at the Wayman Adams School in Elizabethtown, NY
Elizabethtown, New York
Elizabethtown is a town in Essex County, New York, United States. The population was 1,315 at the 2000 census. The county seat of Essex County is a hamlet also called Elizabethtown. The name is derived from Elizabeth Gilliland, the wife of an early settler....
in the Adirondack Mountains and at his own school in Westport NY
Westport, New York
Westport is a town in Essex County, New York, United States overlooking Lake Champlain. The population was 1,362 at the 2000 census.The Town of Westport is on the eastern border of the county and is south of Plattsburgh and south of Montreal. Westport is inside the Adirondack Park.Westport is...
in 1949. He also served on the staff of the Westport, Connecticut
Westport, Connecticut
-Neighborhoods:* Saugatuck – around the Westport railroad station near the southwestern corner of the town – a built-up area with some restaurants, stores and offices....
School of Commercial Art under the direction of Albert Dorne
Albert Dorne
Albert Dorne was an American Illustrator.He was born in the slums of New York City's East Side, and had a troubled childhood plagued with tuberculosis and heart problems. He would cut classes to study art in the museums, eventually quitting school altogether to support his family...
. In 1944 M. Grumbacher published a time chart he had developed outlining the historical development of tonal analysis as it applied to artists from 1200 to the present. Titled “The Rise and Decline of Painting”, it traced the development of artists representation of the visual image and placed modernism at the bottom the chart. It was distributed through the Scholastic awards program and caused some concern among educational circles as well as kudos from supporters. At this time, the New York art world was going through great changes with interest in Modernism and Expressionism. He vehemently opposed these ideas and contributed openly to the critics in New York newspapers and the Staten Island Advance. The only associations that were hold outs for realistic painting during this period were the Salmagundi Club
Salmagundi Club
The Salmagundi Club, also known as the Salmagundi Art Club, was founded in 1871 in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, in the United States. It currently is located at 47 Fifth Avenue...
, Allied Artists, and the American Artist Professional League. Leason became aligned with their members who felt the same way about the changing trends. He held lively painting demonstrations and lectures on realistic tonalism in defiance against the prevailing theories on art. During these years he painted many landscapes and studios studies, most of which are in the collection of the Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum in Australia.
Associated with Portraits Incorporated, N.Y. he had the opportunity to paint some portraits of notoriety including Arlene Francis
Arlene Francis
Arlene Francis was an American actress, radio talk show host, and game show panelist...
, TV personality, and Congressman Dewey Short from Missouri and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, which is in the collection of the House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
A large portrait of Michael Engel, publicity director for M. Grumbacker art supplies won the Hollander prize in 1945 at the exhibition of Audubon Artists. In 1957 he traveled with his wife Isabel to France and England. He painted several tonal studies of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and the countryside of the Dordogne
Dordogne
Dordogne is a départment in south-west France. The départment is located in the region of Aquitaine, between the Loire valley and the High Pyrénées named after the great river Dordogne that runs through it...
region which he visited in particular to justify his theory of cave art.
Percy Leason’s last one man exhibition was held at the Chase Galleries, NY where many of these European studies were on exhibit. In view of what was happening in the art world at this time, the exhibition received poor reviews. Arts Magazine stated that his paintings appeared to be nothing more than “numbered picture scenes”. He tried to sue the magazine but his failing health and lack of funds prevented this.
In 1959 he passed away on Staten Island New York, practically penniless and very despondent at not having received adequate recognition for his labors. Two retrospective exhibitions were held at the Staten Island Institute and at the Salmagundi Club New York. In tribute to his artistic genius, Staten Island Institute curator James Cogin, quoted in the exhibition catalog from Frank Moore Coolby: "Every man ought to be inquisitive every hour of his great adventure down to the day when he shall no longer cast a shadow in the sun. For if he dies without a question in his heart what excuse is there for his continuance." Percy Leason’s constant questioning of tonal technique as an ideal and his works he left are his legacy and his continuance.
-compiled from Artist of Modern Times, A Biography of Percy Leason by Max Leason, 2011. Unpublished.