New Britain herald., 1930-12-27
YOUNG WOMAN ARTIST WINS
 FAME AS WOOD E.NGRAVER


 ago a little poor child in the slums of London cried when her very young and very gay drawing teach, CT got fired.
 She made me think chimney pots were beautiful" the child walled.
 That teacher, the young girl who saw beauty everywhere, and made others see and feel it too, was Glare Leighton, now the distinguished wood engraver who is visiting America this winter.
 She had been fired from the school because the ladies paying for the poor children's education had discovered that she was drawing nudes for a very cheap firm. They didn't consider that very nice,
 And what terrible nudes they were" Miss Leighton laughs now, recalling that period of her career with that inimitable candor that is hers, and very winning quality it is. "I remember that at that particular early stage of my career my fat old nurse was my ideal of feminine beauty. But those nudes, bad as they were, helped eke out a living and gave me money for real training."
 Had strict Upbringmg
 Born of aristocratic parents, an artist father and mother who wrote sentimental melodramas, little Clare had stern up-bring ing by governesses and nurses who knew that the proper career for all girls was marrying a Lord or something. Fortunately for arts sake. the war came while Clare was still very young-she is not 90 yet-and so she escaped her intended fate.
 Not knowing a thing about work or running house, Clare did both. When the money ran out, she began casting about for any kind of work that would pay her. Besides her nudes she did other little decorative plaques for small stores, and a variety of other bits of decoration. As she earned money to eat, she also worked nights learning to perfect her own drawing.
 T can't remember when I first began to sketch" she told me, My earliest recollections are of a 15-minute period each day when my nurse got me all dressed up and l was allowed to go Tn and sit and look at my father and mother but cautioned not to speak. l used 10 draw all the time I was there, for fear I'd talk. I've always known 1 would draw. I remem- Der when l was 1O having some visiting adults laugh when said l wanted 10 illustrate Hardys Return Of the Natlye.'"
 X Popular Artist
 That dream. and many others, have come true tor this vibrant young artist. She Is a member Of the A. R. L.. is the only woman 10 contribute 10 the Prince of Wales British Legion Book, her work is exhibited Tn the British Museum, the Metropolitan, the National Gallery Of Stockholm and the Ma tional Gallery Of Canada, and she has illustrated eight books. and her wood cuts have attained worldwide popularity.
 She started wood engraving, just out of her unsuitable curiosity about finding some expression that suited her perfectly. Quite by chance her first engraving came to the attention Of Eric Gill. he bought it and she Was launched on her life work. BraiIestord brought her work 10 Anirrica first. She received acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic practically simul- taneousIy.
 Wood engraving may sound like d hard and dry career. Clare Leighton's account Of her own work isn't! Such human experi- ences as she has had. In Dalma- tia. where she went 10 get some pictures Of fishermen, she sailed out with them on d regular old boat. For fear she would spattcr her coat-incidentally her one and only - the kindly fishermen took newspapers and string and wrapped her all up. In Dorset where she lived on farms to get the real spirit of the country for her Hardy books, she happened to mention she would loved to have seen one of the old fashioned bonfire feasts. A few days later she learned that the farmers had cut and gathered wood enough for an all-night bonfire, like oldyn times. and the entire countryside staged d feast with native dancing just for her sake.
 Finds America Kind, Too
 Here in America, the folks she draws arc just as kind. Working on the Greensboro bridge, down on the East river bank one day q bargeman came alongside, watch ed her few minutes, then came ashore, told her he was afraid she'd catch cold sitting there and offered her gaiters and an extra coat to put on.
 America, to her way of think" ing, seems to have about every thing, with two exceptions. In the biggest city of the land of plenty Miss Leighton seems to be unable to get in a decent Walk-every- body offers her d ride in their car and in the second place she can't buy q skipping rope big enough for all adult How can she get her exercise which keeps that lovely coIoring in her checks if she can't skip around the top of her penthouse?
 One dream Miss Leighton still has that she hopes America will make come true.
 "I want to decorate factory eoroa day" she said T cannot