Judith Leighton (1929–2011)

Judith Leighton (1929–2011) Biography

Judith Leighton (1929–2011) was the founder and owner of the Leighton Gallery in Blue Hill and an artist in her own right. Leighton attended Washington University, graduating in 1951 with a dual major in art and archaeology and English literature. She began painting with watercolors in the 1950s, gaining notice for her work by the 1960s, and receiving first prize at an art fair in St. Louis. After moving to Maine in 1970, Leighton worked almost exclusively with dry pastels, which she exhibited in Belfast and Bangor, and later at her gallery. Leighton was passionate about art that “celebrated life” whether it was the art she showed at her gallery, or the art she made. Her modernist inspired motifs included flowers, landscapes, tables and chairs, and women, often seated as if engaged in an pleasant conversation, or standing, or holding a dog, cat or bird.