Nicholas Winfield Scott Leighton was born on August 28, 1847 in Falmouth, ME. He was a talented artist whose last known address was Boston, MA. He was mainly a painter of animals, and it was only by raising and trading horses that he was able to pursue his studies.

Leighton studied under Harrison Bird Brown and opened a studio in Boston in 1874. While undertaking an assignment in Gray, ME, Leighton provided art instruction to Delbert Dana Coombs. Coombs later credited Leighton as being the inspiration which spurred his interest in animal painting.

Leighton exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1883, 1886, and 1887, the Boston Art Club between 1874 and 1891, and the Newton Club from December 9th to December 17th, 1896. He also exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Among his important works are “Three Veterans,” “The Smugglers,” and “In the Stable.”

On Sunday, January 2, 1898, Leighton became delusional in a public setting and was subsequently committed to the McLean Insane Asylum in Belmont, MA. A few weeks later, on January 18, 1898, he died from complications of pneumonia at the age of 50. Leighton is buried in Methodist Cemetery, Cumberland, ME. He was survived by his wife, Saidee Wyman Leighton, who he had married in 1870.

References
Independent research by the authors
New Hampshire Scenery