Key Number:	HS 82358
Site Name:	Leighton House and Art Centre
Other Names:	Leighton Arts Center
Site Type:	0101 - Residential: Single Dwelling 0310 - Educational: Museum or Gallery

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			21	2	5

Address:
Number:
Street:
Avenue:
Other:
Town:
Near Town:	Millarville

Media

Type	Number	Date	View
Negative Negative	No negative No negative		Aeirial view of main bldg N/A

Architectural

Style:
Plan Shape:	Cruciform
Storeys:	Storeys: 1
Foundation:
Superstructure:
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	High Gable
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:
Exterior:	The primary building is a one-storey, cruciform plan, wood-frame structure with a two-storey central tower. It is situated on a small rise, giving it an impressive view of the surrounding landscape. It has predominately white walls, with dark trim and imitation half-timbering. The site also includes a red-painted, hip-roofed former one-room schoolhouse, which has been converted into an art studio and classroom; a small gable-roofed pump house; and numerous historic trails leading to points of interest on the property.
Interior:
Environment:	Located on a landscaped hilltop. The Leighton Art Centre is located in a rural area near Millarville, approximately 30 kilometres southwest of Calgary.
Condition:	Good
Alterations:

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Construction Started Construction Ended	1952/01/01 1960/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Educational: Art Gallery Home and Art Studio
Owner:	Owner Date:
Barbara and Alfred Crocker Leighton Barbara Leighton	1952/01/01 1965/01/01

Architect:
Builder:
Craftsman:
History:	D-2261 - LEIGHTON ARTS CENTER, near MILLARVILLE HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Two of the most influential individuals in the history of painting in Alberta were Barbara and Alfred Crocker Leighton. Alfred was born in Hastings, England in October 1901. He attended the Hastings Grammar School, and the Hastings Municipal School of Art, where he studied architecture. He served with the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, and was severely injured after a crash. Following the war, he began to paint landscape scenes and was encouraged to submit his work to the Royal Society of British Artists. He became influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, established earlier by William Morris, and his paintings in this genre began to draw attention in the early 1920s. In 1924, the Canadian Pacific Railway commissioned him to do paintings about the western Canadian landscape in order to attract potential immigrant farmers. In 1925, Leighton was sent out to paint the scenic Canadian Rockies. He produced paintings exclusively for the CPR until 1929, when he resigned and accepted the position of Director of Art for the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Art, a position he held until 1935, when he was forced to return to Britain due to ill health with his wife, Barbara (Harvey), an art student whom he had married in 1931. Barbara was born in 1909 in Plymouth, and would become a direct associate in all of Alfred's undertakings. While at The SAIT, Alfred Leighton had been instrumental in founding the Alberta Society of Artists. In 1933, he established a summer school in the Kananaskis which was the precursor to the Banff School of Fine Arts. Upon returning to Canada in 1938, he resigned from SAIT and moved with Barbara to southern British Columbia. Here he tried farming at Chilliwack, but soon moved to Crescent Beach, where he and Barbara did commercial art work. In 1952, the Leightons purchased an acreage near Millarville, where they designed and built a one-room dwelling with the idea of having it serve as a art studio, with adjoining rooms to be added later. It was named Ballihamish after the school district of which it was a part. The structure was designed in the form of a cross, which allowed painters to focus on different perspectives of the Millarville Valley and Rocky Mountains at different times of the season. It was completed over the course of many years, with the inheritance from Arthur Leighton's father in 1960 being a major contributing factor. Following Alfred Leighton's death in 1965, Barbara Leighton established the Leighton Center for Arts and Crafts, which was officially opened in November, 1970. The 1928 Billihamish School was also brought in to become part of the complex. In 1974, she established the Leighton Foundation for the encouragement of art, and an arts and crafts center for all people to engage in landscape painting. The Foundation is currently housed in the Leighton Center, which includes a museum, art gallery, and educational programming. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The historical significance of the Leighton Center lies in its direct association with Alfred and Barbara Leighton, two of the most influential people in the history of art in Alberta. Description of Historic Place The Leighton Art Centre is a small complex of buildings and trails located on a landscaped hilltop. The primary building is a one-storey, cruciform plan, wood-frame structure with a two-storey central tower. It was constructed in stages between 1952 and 1960. It is situated on a small rise, giving it an impressive view of the surrounding landscape. It has predominately white walls, with dark trim and imitation half-timbering. The site also includes a red-painted, hip-roofed former one-room schoolhouse, which has been converted into an art studio and classroom; a small gable-roofed pump house; and numerous historic trails leading to points of interest on the property. The Leighton Art Centre is located in a rural area near Millarville, approximately 30 kilometres southwest of Calgary. Heritage value of the Leighton Art Centre: Main Building - continued association, through its museum, gallery and educational mission purpose, with A. C. and Barbara Leighton; - overall design, shape and style as envisioned and designed by A. C. Leighton; - location on the crest of a hill; - cruciform plan; - central two storey tower with pyramidal roof; - fenestration pattern, large windows and skylights; - exterior walls clad in stucco and cedar imitation half-timbering; - interior walls of the tower's second floor clad in original plaster; - exposed interior fir beams; - oak flooring (covered in carpet in some areas); - extant hand-crafted furniture designed and produced by A. C. Leighton; - built in fireplace with oak paneling; - extensive use of white pine for the built in cabinetry, window frames and sashes and other interior trim; - embroidered draperies, purchased by Barbara Leighton while living in England; - large greenhouse/conservatory addition (1970) constructed from recycled wood pilings from a Drumheller area mine. Schoolhouse - location in relation to other buildings and trails at the Leighton Art Centre site; - original form mass and scale of the building; - extant original characteristics such as the hip roof, wood flooring, cast-iron stove and ganged window; - 1970 era alterations including cedar shingles and shakes covering the interior walls and ceilings and the exterior roof and lower walls; Grounds - numerous informal historic trails to popular painting locations; - unimpeded view of the Rocky Mountains, foothills and surrounding countryside; - small gable roofed pump house with imitation half timbering.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Provincial Historic Resource	2009/05/07

Register:

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places:	4665-1349