I walked up the hill loaded for bear. Easel, chair, umbrella, portfolio bag, two coats, sweater, big hat, Rubbermaid container and at least one six pack ( I didn’t know Jerry yet). I was at my first Leighton Centre Fall paint out. As I rounded the side of the house, the first thing I saw was Errol Fullen painting the famous Leighton view on a giant sheet of watercolor paper taped to the deck of the office outbuilding. He was pouring paint on and having a glass of wine (Liz Lockwood always kept us happy with a glass of wine, or two). I knew the minute I saw Errol that this place was for me.

In my last newsletter I mentioned that I sold my first painting at the Leighton Centre and how near and dear it is to me. I was flooded with calls about “that Leighton place”. How many of you have heard of the centre but don’t really know much about it or whom AC Leighton was, or what an important part of not only Alberta’s but Canada’s history he was? Thus, I give you my primer on the AC Leighton story. Though my facts may be off, the sentiment rings true.

What is now the Leighton Centre, Art Gallery and Museum, was AC Leighton’s home. I can imagine him coming up the same hill as I did that day, seeing that view for the first time. That was it. He had to have it. “And the picture window will be big enough to enjoy the view all year round.”

Alfred Crocker Leighton (1901-1965)   was an extremely talented fine artist and illustrator. Along with that talent he had a prodigious work habit. He was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway at the young age of 23 to travel across Canada (his first trip) for six months and paint along the main line. In doing this he would not only be doing commercial work but be able to squeeze in his own work as well. Working in the Rockies, AC gained a voracious appetite for mountainous painting and these early visits allowed him to paint in places no ordinary man could imagine.

On his second trip to Canada in 1927 he decided to exclusively paint in the Rockies, and hone his outdoor, plein air skills. He even joined the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies later that year to give himself access to more remote places amongst the mountains.

Burning the midnight oil, he returned to Canada for a third time in 1929. This time it was for himself. He brought with him a traveling exhibition of his own work and a sponsor. The T Eaton company. (Remember Eaton’s?) While in Calgary, he was offered the position as head of the Alberta College of Art. He accepted. Thanked the CP Rail for there hospitality and started a whole new life.

Between 1929 and 1936, AC’s tenacious ways continued. With him as headmaster, the Alberta College of Art thrived. In 1929 he founded the Alberta Society of Artists, which is still active today. In 1931 he married Barbara Harvey. A student he had favored for her artistic aptitude. In 1933 he established a rural summer school in Banff. This would eventually become the visual arts program of the Banff School of Fine Arts. Again, still going today.

Tenacious ways and the pressures of teaching finally took their toll. In 1936 AC’s health took a turn. At just 35 he took a leave from the college and returned to England. Did I mention he was from The UK? Hastings, Sussex actually. You know, perfect watercolour country. Grey, foggy, misty, lost edge sky country. John Sell Cotman, Richard Parkes Bonington, Pauline Gray country. Upon his return to Canada in 1938 he resigned as the director for the Alberta College of Art and gave up teaching. Except for his favorite student, wife Barbara, whom he continued to teach.

Once more, just before the war, the Leighton’s returned to Canada. They bought a ranch in Chilliwack British Columbia and tried there hand at farming. When the cows wouldn’t come home they moved to Crescent Beach, Vancouver. They then tried a stint in California. Being able to stay with his wife’s family in Calgary after the war, his love for the mountains was renewed. They finally succumb to Alberta’s call. Songwriter/singer, Corb Lund, said it best;

They moved back to Alberta and set up shop. In 1952 The Leighton’s bought 80 acres of heaven overlooking the Millarville Valley. They named it “Ballyhamage”, after a one room school house that was built in the area.  Ten years later, AC Leighton passed on and left everything to his wife Barbara.

Behind every good man there is an even better woman. AC Leighton may have been instrumental in acquiring a room with a view, but it was Barbara who had the  insight for the need to create the Leighton Center. “To unleash the art in everyone” is what she dreamed.

Barbara Leighton opened the Leighton Foundation in 1974 and dedicated herself to not only teaching children, whom she loved (not having any of there own) and country women from the area who she felt needed a network to socialize. To achieve this dream Barbara bought the original one room schoolhouse, “Ballyhamage”. That schoolhouse now sits on the lower part of the land was purchased for $1000 in 1970, and has been a mainstay for teaching children art since its inception. The schoolhouse, outbuildings, tee pee and the new Mister P Potty on the lower half, along with the main house on the hill encompasses what we now know as The Leighton Centre.

For those of you who have been to the Leighton Centre you know what I’m talking about. For those of you who have never been there, all I can say is you must venture forth to fully appreciate all that has become the Leighton Centre. Even if you’re not a landscape painter one must visit. Plus they have really cool paintings, and dedicated people who give of their time selflessly to keep Barbara’s dream, and AC’s vision alive.