The Water Carrier

Following his first trip to Laguna, New Mexico in 1906, William Robinson Leigh made numerous trips to the region and endeavored to make the West his home. Like his contemporaries painting in Taos, Leigh remained true to his training in Munich, striving for accurate realism in his highly finished canvases depicting the American Indians of New Mexico. The quiet meditative scene in The Water Carrier underscores the directness with which Leigh approached his subjects. Leigh wrote extensively about art, and to him all human expression was governed by adherence to truth, beauty and integrity. According to D. Duane Cummings, for Leigh works "devoid of simple, honest, professional mastery and worthiness of purpose" were without merit. (William Robinson Leigh: Western Artist, Norman, Oklahoma, 1980, p. 131) Indeed, The Water Carrier is a superb example of Leigh's skillful draftsmanship, vivid palette and idealistic realism.