Leonard C. Lane

Artist Bio: Leonard Lane (1910-1978)

Leonard Lane was born in Bristol, England, and immigrated to Canada with his family at the age of sixteen. The Lane’s settled in Hamilton, Ontario, where Leonard got a job as a draftsman in the International Harvester Truck Plant. In the evenings, he studied painting at the Hamilton School of Art.

Lane served in the Royal Canadian Navy for four years during the Second World War, when he was stationed in Halifax. At this time, he met the Zwicker’s, and the other artists who were working in Halifax during the war years.

Following de-mobilization in 1946, Lane returned to work with International Harvester. However, he continued to paint in his spare time, and later that year submitted a painting to the Royal Canadian Academy Annual Exhibition. The work was accepted and was the first painting sold following the opening of the exhibition. Leonard was delighted and saw this as a sign that he should take up painting as a career. When he tendered his resignation, he moved back to Halifax with his new wife. Leonard and Jean lived in Chester in an un-insulated cottage. The cold temperatures resulted in Leonard taking his wife to Florida. In Florida, Leonard discovered that he could sell his paintings much more easily than in Nova Scotia. For the following few winters, Leonard and Jean spent their winters in Florida and summered in Nova Scotia, where he sketched scenes for his paintings. It soon became apparent to Leonard, that it would make more sense to live in Florida and come to Nova Scotia every summer to gather material for his work.

Lane was known for his realistic marine paintings, which he exhibited extensively throughout the United States and Canada.