Alfred Leyman (1856-1933)
Biography of West Country watercolour painter Alfred Leyman (1856-1933)
Alfred Leyman (1856-1933) was a West Country watercolour painter. Leyman was born in Summerland Street in Exeter on 27th September 1856 and was the son of John Francis Leyman, a seaman in the Merchant Service.
Leyman moved to Honiton in 1888 and became Art Master at Allhallows School in 1893, a post he filled for forty years until 1933. This seems an extraordinary feat based on the evidence of one pupil who said that Leyman: 'had no real teaching ability and he would have been happier alone with his easel, and away from the gathering of rowdy boys'.
Away from the trauma of the classroom, Leyman loved the Devon countryside and covered hundreds of miles along the lanes and roads with paint box and easel in hand. He clearly enjoyed painting landscapes and landmarks, villages, rivers and coastal scenes, rarely in any other medium other than watercolour. He seldom left Devon, with the exception of short trips to West Dorset and Somerset, to places like Porlock and Lynton.
Leyman supplemented his teaching income by painting popular resorts for the visitors and we regularly see Leyman watercolours of The Guildhall in Exeter, The Butterwalk in Dartmouth, Dittisham, Clovelly and the high street in Otterton.
In the period Leyman was at his most prolific, Elands Art Gallery in Exeter were showcasing local artists and staged biannual exhibitions, one in April and one in August. In 1906, sixteen Leyman watercolours were shown and one still finds authentic Eland Gallery labels attached to the old backing boards of the Leyman watercolours. Elands were in fact more booksellers than art dealers and the business continued until 2006 when the premises at Mol's Coffee House in Exeter were closed for the last time.
Leyman died in Honiton in 1933.
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Alfred Leyman (1856-1933)
Related Lots
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] Exeter High Street and Guildhall after a shower of rain - signed watercolour 42 x 67cm.
Estimate: £250 - £350
Realised: £450
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - Cockington Forge - signed, watercolour, 37.5 x 54.5cm.
Estimate: £200 - £300
Realised: £250
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - The Ship Inn, Porlock, wagon, horse and figures in the street in the foreground - signed bottom right watercolour 26.5 x 44.5cm.
Estimate: £120 - £180
Realised: £150
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - The Lych Gate, Offwell - signed watercolour 53 x 73cm.
Estimate: £600 - £900
Realised: £600
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - Clovelly - signed watercolour 36 x 52cm.
Estimate: £250 - £350
Realised: £350
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - Tintagel - signed watercoour 36 x 535cm.
Estimate: £200 - £300
Realised: £200
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - Gittisham, East Devon - signed watercolour 35 x 53.5cm.
Estimate: £300 - £500
Realised: £240
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - East Devon cottages, a figure ad stepping stones in the foreground - signed watercolour 25 x 45cm.
Estimate: £250 - £350
Realised: £240
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - The Guildhall, Exeter - signed watercolour 75 x 52cm.
Estimate: £200 - £300
Realised: £580
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Alfred Leyman [1856-1933] - Cathedral Close, Exeter signed and dated 1914 watercolour 53.5 x 75cm.
Estimate: £300 - £500
Realised: £1,500
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