Cecil Mary Leslie (1900–1980) was an engraver, portrait painter, sculptor and illustrator.

Biography

Leslie was born in London and studied at the

Heatherley School of Fine Art The Heatherley School of Fine Art is an independent art school in London. The school was named after Thomas Heatherley who took over as the school's principal from James Mathews Leigh (when it was named "Leigh's"). Founded in 1845, the school ...

in 1919 and then at the London School of Photolithography and Engraving and the

Central School of Arts and Crafts The Central School of Art and Design was a art school, school of fine arts, fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School ...

. She taught at the

Grosvenor School of Modern Art The Grosvenor School of Modern Art was a private British art school and, in its shortened form ("Grosvenor School"), the name of a brief British-Australian art movement. It was founded in 1925 by the Scottish wood engraver Iain Macnab in his h ...

. From 1923 until 1939 Leslie exhibited works at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

in London, with the Society of Women Artists, the

Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibiti ...

, the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...

in Liverpool, the

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...

, the

Royal Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

, the

Royal Cambrian Academy of Art The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art (RCA) is a centre of excellence for art in Wales. Its main gallery is located in Conwy and it has over a hundred members. 240px, Plas Mawr, Conwy Early history During the 19th century there were numerous attempt ...

and at the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

. Leslie also exhibited in the United States, France,

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Australia and New Zealand. Her home was in

Blakeney, Norfolk Blakeney is a coastal village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Blakeney lies within the Norfolk Coast AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) and the North Norfolk Heritage Coast. The North Norfol ...

. Cecil Leslie illustrated the Puffin editions of the classic ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published between 1880 and 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' () and ''Heidi: How She Used What She Learned'' ( ...

'' (1956) and E. Nesbit's ''

The Story of the Treasure Seekers ''The Story of the Treasure Seekers'' is a novel by E. Nesbit first published in 1899. It tells the story of Dora, Oswald, Dicky, Alice, Noel, and Horace Octavius (H. O.) Bastable, and their attempts to assist their widowed father and recover ...

'' (1958), '' The Wouldbegoods'' (1958) and '' The Enchanted Castle'' (1964). She also illustrated many of Pauline Clarke's books, including the Carnegie Medal winner, '' The Twelve and the Genii'', and several other children's books by

Rose Fyleman Rose Amy Fyleman (6 March 1877 – 1 August 1957) was an English writer and poet, noted for her works on fairies for children. Her 1917 poem "There are fairies at the bottom of our garden" was set to music by English composer Liza Lehmann. Lif ...

and

Alison Uttley Alison Jane Uttley ( Taylor; 17 December 1884 – 7 May 1976) was an English writer of over 100 books. She is best known for a children's series about Little Grey Rabbit and Sam Pig. She is also remembered for a pioneering time slip novel for ch ...

, among others.''The Dictionary of 20th Century British Book Illustrators'' (1994) edited by Alan Horne, Antique Collectors' Club, pp 292-293

References

External links

*
Victoria & Albert Museum examples of Leslie's engraving, from Pauline Clarke's ''Crowds of Creatures''Portrait by Cecil Mary Leslie
*
26 prints and drawings by Cecil Leslie
held at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, including 19 donated by Pauline Clarke. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leslie, Cecil Mary 1900 births 1980 deaths 20th-century British engravers 20th-century English painters 20th-century English women artists Artists from London British children's book illustrators People from Blakeney, Norfolk British women engravers