Clare Leighton

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Clare Leighton (1901 - 1989) was an American artist, writer and illustrator, best known for her wood engravings.

Leighton was born in Britain, she emigrated in 1939 to the United States. Over the course of a long and prolific career, she wrote and illustrated numerous books praising the virtues of the American countryside and the people who worked the land. During the 1920s and 1930s, as the world around her became increasingly technological, industrial, and urban, Leighton portrayed rural working men and women. In the 1950s she created designs for Steuben Glass, Wedgewood plates, and several stained glass windows for churches in New England.

Her birthdate is also given as 1898 and 1899.

She was the daughter of Robert Leighton (1858-1934) Marie Connor Leighton (1865-1941?), both authors. She had two brothers, one of whom was older and one of whom was younger, Roland and Evelyn Leighton. Roland Leighton was 19 when the First World War broke out, and joined the army almost immediately. He was killed in December 1915. Evelyn later became a captain in the Royal Navy and died in 1969.