He was born in
Little Compton, Rhode Island, a descendant of the
Pilgrim William Bradford. In 1875, he married Sarah Drew Wilkinson (1851–1952) and, with her encouragement and wealth, became a full-time artist. He studied in
Paris with
Jean-Paul Laurens from 1876 to 1880 and then returned to
Rhode Island, where he spent most of his life. Burleigh rose to national prominence after receiving a
bronze medal at the
St. Louis Exposition in 1904 and an open prize from the
Buffalo Society of Artists in 1913. He exhibited regularly at the
Boston Art Club, the Providence Art Club, as well as the
National Academy of Design, the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the
Newport Art Museum. He also worked as an illustrator and collaborated with writer
William Henry Frost on several children’s books. He was a painter in the
realist style, consistent with the
academic style of his teacher, Laurens. Mabel Ducasse, an art critic for the
Providence Journal, wrote of Burleigh’s art that "there is a quality in his work which suggests that of the masters of the Renaissance when they chose to employ line and wash. It is character — born of perfect certainty of touch and flowing freedom of line. It is seldom achieved by modern watercolorists, who most often mistake the function of their medium, which is that of drawing rather than painting." Another of his studios was a unique and eccentric little building known as the "Peggotty." Burleigh built it over the hull of a small sailboat that had been used as a ferry between Little Compton and
Middletown, Rhode Island. It featured a
thatched roof, and today it is on display at the Little Compton Historical Society. Burleigh was a leading member of the art community in Rhode Island. He was a founder of the Providence Art Club in 1880 and was the first president of the
Providence Watercolor Club. He had a long association with the
Rhode Island School of Design, serving on the board of directors (1887–1893), as a teacher (1897–1906), and as a trustee (1919–1931). He received an
honorary degree from
Brown University in 1912. His works are held in several private and public collections, including the
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the museums at Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, the
Rhode Island Historical Society, the
Little Compton Historical Society, and the Henry Ford collection in Dearborn, Michigan. == Sources ==