Page:One of a thousand.djvu/386

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372 LEIGHTON. LEIGHTON. Mr. Leighton had full charge of moving Hotel Pelham in 1869, and did all the masonry. This was the first work of its magnitude ever done in this country, and ing young horses, which, after breaking in, he would sell at a considerable profit. In this way, by the time he was seventeen, he had made from sixteen to eighteen hun- dred dollars, with which he started for Portland, Me. He first commenced by painting the portraits of horses for private parties, but as he only received two dollars and a half for his first commission, he did not feel much encouraged, so went to Providence, R. I., where he engaged in the artistic furniture trade, which he quickly picked up without any previous knowledge. This work was paid for by the piece, and young Leighton worked so industriously that some days he earned something over seventeen dollars. Upon the failure of the firm, Mr. Leighton traveled through differ- ent states, painting portraits of horses. He finally settled in Boston, and from a portrait painter of horses, he became one of the most famous animal painters of the day. It is very evident that among the true causes of this artist's success is not only his conscientious devotion to art, but also JOHN W LEIGHTON. was accomplished without an accident ol any kind. The most notable of his buildings are : Boston post-office, Rialto building, Herald building, Simmons block, Commonwealth Bank building, Williams building, and Bos- ton & Providence depot. Among the pri- vate residences are those of Hon. Frank Ames, Dr. Clarence H. Blake, and Hon. Leopold Morse. Mr. Leighton is an energetic man, in- spiring the confidence of his associates, and holding their respect and esteem. LEIGHTON, Nicholas Winfield SCOTT, son of Nicholas and Deborah (Whitney) Leighton, is a native of Auburn, Androscoggin county, Maine, moved from there at two years of age, and was edu- cated at the common and high schools of Gray, Maine. He early gave evidence of talent, and attracted the attention of his parents and teachers by devoting to draw- ing much time that ought to have been occupied with his regular lessons. His especial taste was for sketching horses. From the age of fourteen till about seventeen, he was in the habit of purchas- SCOTT LEIGHTON. his inborn love of animals. He is a mem- ber of the Art Club, and has been not inaptly called the " Landseer of the' United States."