Chrysanthemums, Oil on Canvas, 56 x45.5cm,circa 1913 AIB Art Collection

William Leech

RHA, 1881 -1968

Born in 1881 in Dublin.William Leech studied at the Dublin Metropolitan School, before going on to the prestigious Royal Hibernian Academy where he studied under Walter Osborne. Like Osborne, Leech was drawn to France, especially Brittany, where he was drawn to aspects of the impressionist style, their colour and their light, but unlike his French contemporaries his work is characterised by strong compositions and draftsmanship. He is known for his landscapes which often feature figures; some of the most beautiful of these feature his wife, French painter Elizabeth Saurine