Edmund Blair Leighton (EBL) (21 September 1852 – 1 September 1922) was a British painter of historical genre scenes, specialising in Regency and medieval subjects and aligned to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Whilst never gaining the recognition and accolades of some of his better known colleagues (e.g. William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rosetti) his work has seen a recent resurgence and today he is best known for “The Bride Signing the Register” and “Accolade”, however there are a great many other beautiful paintings.

EBL is Gavin’s Great Grandfather, and in his memory we are working on creating a portfolio of his work in Tapestry and Cross Stitch designs. We have started with two of the lesser known pictures to show the breadth of his work but will of course include the more famous ones too.

EBL was the son of the artist Charles Blair Leighton. He was educated at University College School, before becoming a student at the Royal Academy Schools. He married Katherine Nash in 1885 and they went on to have a son and daughter (Gavin’s Grandmother). He exhibited annually at the Royal Academy from 1878 to 1920.

'Accolade'

'Signing the Register'

EBL always painted in a 3-Piece suit