
Painters of Wallingford - Charles Robert Leslie
Charles Robert Leslie
Charles Robert Leslie (1794-1859) was born in London, of American parents
from Maryland. His father was a clock and watchmaker, and represented his
company in England. His family returned to America (Philadelphia) in 1800, but
his father died in 1804. He was initially apprenticed to a bookseller, nut was
able to travel to London in 1811, bearing a letter of introduction to Benjamin
West, President of the Royal Academy. He studied at the Royal Academy schools,
and became an associate of the Royal Academy in 1821. He was elected an
academician in 1826. He was known as a painter of the literary and narrative
genres.
He married in 1825. In 1833 he took up the position of Teacher of Drawing at
the West Point Military Academy. In 1848 he became Professor of Painting at the
Royal Academy, where he wrote a book, Handbook for Young Painters, based
upon his lectures. His autobiography, edited by Tom Taylor, was published in
1860.
Charles Robert Leslie was a contemporary of John Constable. He wrote a
biography of Constable, published in 1843, and painted a portrait of him, which
hangs at the Royal Academy, London. Constable's letters to Charles Robert
Leslie were published in 1931.
Works by Charles Robert Leslie include the following.