The Michener Art Museum presents “Harry Leith-Ross: Scenes from Country Life” on view in the Pfundt Gallery until Feb. 9, 2020. Featuring drawings and watercolors primarily from the museum’s permanent collection, this exhibition illuminates the artistic process and skilled draftsmanship of the painter Harry Leith-Ross (1886-1973). Born in the former British colony of Mauritius, Leith-Ross grew up in Scotland and England before moving to the United States in 1903. After working as a commercial artist and studying painting in Paris, he enrolled in the Art Students League's summer school at Woodstock, N.Y., in 1913 and began exhibiting in New York and Philadelphia. Leith-Ross settled permanently in New Hope, Pa., in 1935 and became an integral part of the local art community. He won awards from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Phillips' Mill, National Academy of Design, American Watercolor Society, and the Salmagundi Club, among others.
Leith-Ross made drawings as finished works and used them as studies for his larger oil paintings, like “Of Days Long Past” (ca. 1959), displayed in the Putman Smith Gallery. He masterfully manipulated black conté crayon to achieve a variety of textures, dramatic contrasts, and bright highlights. A few drawings even include the artist’s handwritten color notes to guide him when executing paintings in his studio. Leith-Ross also excelled in the watercolor medium, and his vibrant compositions were admired by critics and sought by collectors. Depicting Holland, Scotland, Nova Scotia, New Hope, and Doylestown, among other locations, the works in this exhibition map Leith-Ross’s extensive travels and encapsulate an intimate vision of everyday life in rural and small town settings.
“Harry Leith-Ross: Scenes From Country Life” is the first show curated by the Michener’s new curator of American Art Laura Turner Igoe. The exhibition program in the Bette and Nelson Pfundt Gallery is presented by Vivian Banta and Robert Field.
The Michener Art Museum is located at 138 S. Pine St., Doylestown, Pa. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
For more information, call 215-340-9800 or visit www.MichenerArtMuseum.org.