Sara Leighton
Encyclopedia
Sara Leighton, is a famous English society portrait painter, author
, actress and personality
, also noted for her beauty
.
in 1937, the sister of actress Carole Lorimer. Her ambition was to become a painter since she was old enough to hold a brush, and this she pursued under the tutelage of Pietro Annigoni
. She stated that 'Annigoni gave me the heart to fight for a career when the cards of my sex, youth and country of origin were neatly stacked against me... he was a strict disciplinarian.' In her youth she acted in numerous TV and film roles under both her birth name, Shirley Lorimer and her assumed name Sara Leighton.
Leighton quickly found considerable success in portrait painting, becoming highly sought after by rich and influential society figures who were eager for her to paint their likeness. One of her most famous commissions was the Queen Mother
. Leighton stated that she was also her favourite subject 'something goes on when she enters a room... the Queen Mother is genuinely so kind and has a way of making you feel you are the important one, not her.' Helen Cathcart, the Queen Mother's biographer noted that 'preparing a fresco, a younger artist, Sara Leighton, preferred to eschew formal sittings and was permitted to follow the Queen Mother with a sketchbook,' One of these sketches was later made into a popular limited edition print, published by the House of Questa, London in an edition of 2,500.
1963 saw Leighton establishing the company London Portrait's LTD in order to administer the increasing demand for her work. The following year, Leighton was badly injured in a car accident near Tunbridge Wells, receiving facial injuries and leg fractures. Also involved in the accident was Keith Waters her husband, and the famous American female bullfighter Sandra Landry who had flown to England to have her portrait painted by Leighton.
In November, 1971 it was reported in the Toledo Blade that Muhammed Ali was to have his portrait painted by Sara Leighton, however according to the Boca Raton News in October 1981, Leighton declined his request as well as that of Elizabeth Taylor. She justified the reasons for her decision, stating 'when I paint I must have total concentration. Although they would make lovely subjects, I can not paint in a three-ring circus. There was too much activity around them at the time I was propositioned to paint.'
In 1972, she travelled to South America in search of the Jaguar, the resulting painting being donated to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
. The painting Storm over the Veldt was donated to the Worldlife Fund on its 10th Anniversary, with the proceeds from reproduction rights going to the fund.
Leighton was also controversially outspoken in regards to her sex, rejecting the rising feminist discourse prevalent at the time. In 1962 at the age of 26, she founded (perhaps satirically) The Society for the Protection of Utter Femininity. The society's aims were to encourage women to give up the vote and stop trying to compete with men in business - she quipped to the press, 'A woman should stay in the home...my ex-husband agrees with me.' She later stated that "Chopin was right when he said that all creative energy is sexual. He was writing a letter and he said something like: 'and when I think my darling, of how many sonatas I have poured into you.' That's why I don't think there have been great women painters."
Sara Leighton was also famed for her beauty, Pietro Annigoni once labelled her 'the most beautiful woman in the world'. The British newsreader Jan Leeming
recalled 'I thought salvation, or an answer to my dilemma would come in the shape of a job in the north of England. I'd been to an audition for a news reading position with Granada Television in Manchester. I vividly remember walking into a room where other hopefuls were sitting. My heart sank when I looked at one stunningly beautiful woman and thought I hadn't got a chance. She was a painter called Sara Leighton, who went on to relative acclaim. To my surprise, she didn't get the job, I did. I can only think it was because I already had experience of news reading and the others hadn't.'
In 1973 it was reported that Sara Leighton had bought a 40-room monastery in Tuscany, Italy, and intended to turn it into a sanctuary for writers, musicians, artists, as paying guests.
Leighton increasing became a media personality, appearing regularly on talk and panel shows including Parkinson
, which brought with it her fair share of press attention. In 1975 Punch Magazine speculated on Sara Leighton's profligacy - citing a new record - due to the artist having allegedly spent £3 Million in four months.
1980 saw Leighton publish her autobiography titled Of Savages and Kings, which recounts her adventures around the world with the diverse and interesting people that were part of her exciting life. She recalls her encounters with many of her clients and friends including Lord Olivier
, The Prince of Wales
, Muhammad Ali
, Sheikh Yamani, Gloria Swanson
, Pietro Annigoni
, Sir Roger Moore
, Jean Rook
, David Niven
, Shirley Bassey
, Joan Collins
, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Princess Royal
and the Beaverbrook family.
Sara Leighton's work is scarce, owing to the majority being commissioned portraits still in the possession of the patrons. In November 2005, Female clown on trapeze - a pencil and watercolour drawing - and one of the few works to appear on the market, sold at Christie's, King Street London for £384.
(written by Sara Leighton)
(credited as Sara Leighton)
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, actress and personality
Celebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
, also noted for her beauty
Beauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
.
Life and work
Sara Leighton was born as Shirley Lorimer in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1937, the sister of actress Carole Lorimer. Her ambition was to become a painter since she was old enough to hold a brush, and this she pursued under the tutelage of Pietro Annigoni
Pietro Annigoni
Pietro Annigoni was an Italian portrait and fresco painter, who became world famous after painting Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.-Life:Born in Milan in 1910, Annigoni was a painter who was influenced by the Italian Renaissance....
. She stated that 'Annigoni gave me the heart to fight for a career when the cards of my sex, youth and country of origin were neatly stacked against me... he was a strict disciplinarian.' In her youth she acted in numerous TV and film roles under both her birth name, Shirley Lorimer and her assumed name Sara Leighton.
Leighton quickly found considerable success in portrait painting, becoming highly sought after by rich and influential society figures who were eager for her to paint their likeness. One of her most famous commissions was the Queen Mother
Queen mother
Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...
. Leighton stated that she was also her favourite subject 'something goes on when she enters a room... the Queen Mother is genuinely so kind and has a way of making you feel you are the important one, not her.' Helen Cathcart, the Queen Mother's biographer noted that 'preparing a fresco, a younger artist, Sara Leighton, preferred to eschew formal sittings and was permitted to follow the Queen Mother with a sketchbook,' One of these sketches was later made into a popular limited edition print, published by the House of Questa, London in an edition of 2,500.
1963 saw Leighton establishing the company London Portrait's LTD in order to administer the increasing demand for her work. The following year, Leighton was badly injured in a car accident near Tunbridge Wells, receiving facial injuries and leg fractures. Also involved in the accident was Keith Waters her husband, and the famous American female bullfighter Sandra Landry who had flown to England to have her portrait painted by Leighton.
In November, 1971 it was reported in the Toledo Blade that Muhammed Ali was to have his portrait painted by Sara Leighton, however according to the Boca Raton News in October 1981, Leighton declined his request as well as that of Elizabeth Taylor. She justified the reasons for her decision, stating 'when I paint I must have total concentration. Although they would make lovely subjects, I can not paint in a three-ring circus. There was too much activity around them at the time I was propositioned to paint.'
In 1972, she travelled to South America in search of the Jaguar, the resulting painting being donated to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a charity in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. In 2009 the RSPCA investigated 141,280 cruelty complaints and collected and rescued 135,293 animals...
. The painting Storm over the Veldt was donated to the Worldlife Fund on its 10th Anniversary, with the proceeds from reproduction rights going to the fund.
Leighton was also controversially outspoken in regards to her sex, rejecting the rising feminist discourse prevalent at the time. In 1962 at the age of 26, she founded (perhaps satirically) The Society for the Protection of Utter Femininity. The society's aims were to encourage women to give up the vote and stop trying to compete with men in business - she quipped to the press, 'A woman should stay in the home...my ex-husband agrees with me.' She later stated that "Chopin was right when he said that all creative energy is sexual. He was writing a letter and he said something like: 'and when I think my darling, of how many sonatas I have poured into you.' That's why I don't think there have been great women painters."
Sara Leighton was also famed for her beauty, Pietro Annigoni once labelled her 'the most beautiful woman in the world'. The British newsreader Jan Leeming
Jan Leeming
Jan Leeming is a British TV presenter and newsreader.-Career:Born Janet Atkins in Kent, England, and educated at the St. Joseph's Convent Grammar School, she worked as an actress and presenter in Australia and New Zealand before becoming a well-known face on British television in regional and...
recalled 'I thought salvation, or an answer to my dilemma would come in the shape of a job in the north of England. I'd been to an audition for a news reading position with Granada Television in Manchester. I vividly remember walking into a room where other hopefuls were sitting. My heart sank when I looked at one stunningly beautiful woman and thought I hadn't got a chance. She was a painter called Sara Leighton, who went on to relative acclaim. To my surprise, she didn't get the job, I did. I can only think it was because I already had experience of news reading and the others hadn't.'
In 1973 it was reported that Sara Leighton had bought a 40-room monastery in Tuscany, Italy, and intended to turn it into a sanctuary for writers, musicians, artists, as paying guests.
Leighton increasing became a media personality, appearing regularly on talk and panel shows including Parkinson
Parkinson (TV series)
Parkinson is a British television talk show that was presented by Sir Michael Parkinson. It was first shown on the BBC from 1971 to 2004, and on ITV from 2004 to 2007.-Background:...
, which brought with it her fair share of press attention. In 1975 Punch Magazine speculated on Sara Leighton's profligacy - citing a new record - due to the artist having allegedly spent £3 Million in four months.
1980 saw Leighton publish her autobiography titled Of Savages and Kings, which recounts her adventures around the world with the diverse and interesting people that were part of her exciting life. She recalls her encounters with many of her clients and friends including Lord Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
, Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Sheikh Yamani, Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
, Pietro Annigoni
Pietro Annigoni
Pietro Annigoni was an Italian portrait and fresco painter, who became world famous after painting Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.-Life:Born in Milan in 1910, Annigoni was a painter who was influenced by the Italian Renaissance....
, Sir Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
, Jean Rook
Jean Rook
Jean Kathleen Rook was an English journalist dubbed The First Lady of Fleet Street for her regular opinion column in the Daily Express...
, David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
and the Beaverbrook family.
Sara Leighton's work is scarce, owing to the majority being commissioned portraits still in the possession of the patrons. In November 2005, Female clown on trapeze - a pencil and watercolour drawing - and one of the few works to appear on the market, sold at Christie's, King Street London for £384.
Exhibitions
- 1979 - Dreamscapes and Paintings - The Medici Gallery, London
- 1981 - Sara Leighton: Dreamscapes - Patricia Judith Art Gallery, Boca Raton
- 1987 - Sara Leighton: Eternal Beauty - Patricia Judith Art Gallery, Boca Raton
- 1996 - Sara Leighton: Selection of Paintings, London
Books
(illustrated by Sara Leighton)- Hayes, Walter. Angelica: The Bewitching Witch (1968)
(written by Sara Leighton)
- Leighton, Sara. Of Savages and Kings (Bachman and Turner, 1980)
Film and television
(credited as Shirley Lorimer)- You Know What Sailors Are (1954) - Jasmin
- Up to His Neck (1954) (uncredited) - Fanny
- No Place for Jennifer (1950) (uncredited) - Saleswoman
- Brighton Rock (1947) (uncredited) - Shirley
(credited as Sara Leighton)
- The Woman Eater (1958)
- Dial 999 - (2 episodes, 1959)
- The Dickie Henderson Half-Hour (1 episode, 1958)
Other sources
- They Call Me Psychic Sara, Prediction (February, 1959)