Art Student Fall 1928 - Spring, 1933
Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, aka Columbus Art School
The Great Depression began with the stock market crash on September 4, 1929. Dorothy had graduated from high school in 1928 and was continuing her education at the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts/ aka Columbus Art School when the crash happened.
Below: This news article describes an Easter Egg coloring contest in which Dorothy (see red arrow) was one of the judges. A transcript of the article is to the right of the article.
ART STUDENTS JUDGE EASTER EGGS
STUDENTS of the Columbus Art School are shown here judging the entries in the Citizen's Easter Egg coloring contest. The prize winners will be announced Saturday. Live bunnies will be presented to the winners. The judges above are: Catherine Daeumler, 369 W. Ninth-av; Dorothy Leach, 907 Lockbourne-rd, and Frances Krumm. E. Main-st.
Below: As described in the article and transcript, sometime before January 1931, Dorothy participated with other art students in a special exhibition,
IN N.E.A. WEEK EXHIBITION
The above still life is by Dorothy Leach, daughter of Common Pleas Judge Charles A. Leach, 901 Lockbourne rd, and will be among the more than 100 examples in the special exhibition for N. E. A. Week, at Lazarus. The exhibition, all by students of the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts will open Saturday morning and remain open to the public and the N. E. A. visitors thru July 3.
The exhibit will take up three rooms in the store. Two will be devoted to examples of students of all years, including portraits and landscapes from life, designs for commercial use, murals for walls and ceilings and public buildings, Jesso frames, jewel boxes and textile designs.
The center room of the three for exhibition purposes will hold a model of the new gallery, now under construction, and which will be completed in January, 1931. Water color sketches of different sections of the interior of the new gallery will also be hung in this room. Another feature of the exhibit will be a case of sculpture by Chester R. Nicodemus, head of the department of sculpture of the Dayton Art Institute.
Below: The February 2nd 1931 Columbus Dispatch included an article about students at the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts making posters for an amateur musical group and Charity Newsies.
Helping Franklin Players and Newsies as They Study
These pupils of Mark Russell, instructor of commercial design at the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, are learning how to make posters, and at the same time helping the Franklin Players, amateur musical group, and the Charity Newsies.
The Franklin Players on Feb. 9-10, are presenting at Central high school their sixth annual operetta, "The Yeoman of the Guard," for the benefit of the Charity Newsies. These four student artists are making posters for the event which are to be placed at the Wilkin-Redfan Co. store on South High street; the Louis P. Coyne Hat Shop, East State street, and the lobbies of the Neil House and Central high school. At the rear desks are Veda Walsh and Dorothy Leach, and in the foreground, Maxine Magill and Esther Swaney.
Below: On February 28, 1932, the Ohio State Journal published an article titled, "Art Students Go Skating at Smiths." In the first photograph, Dorothy is shown with others getting skates. The caption "PRELIMINARY TO AN HAZARDOUS ADVENTURE ... Many had forgotten how to roller skate when they attended the party held recently at Smith's Rink by Columbus Art School Students. Miss Eileen Collins, 35 Merrill Ave.,and Miss Dorothy Leach, 901 Lockbourne Rd., are seen having their skates fitted."
Dorothy created many pieces of art during her four years as a student at the Columbus Art School including pen line drawings, calligraphy, charcoal drawings, water color images, oil paintings, lithographs, a texture-painted box, and sculptures. Some of her creations are shown below.
Below: "Grey Tones in Pen Lines."
Below Left: "Rhythm (Radiation);" Below Right: "Freehand Squares."
Below Left: Curve Designs; Right: "Flowers Adapted to Shapes."
Below Left: "Invented Plants;" Right: "Invented Animals."
Below: Calligraphy
Bottom Left: "Suggestions for designs to be used in Diane perfume bottle and compact in Silver;' Right: "Suggestions for Colophon Etched to be reduced by 1 1/2 " by 2"."
Bottom Left: is labeled "Concour Senior." Bottom Right: The poster was not titled.
Below: These works of art were untitled.
Below: These works of art were untitled.
Below: These works of art were untitled.
Below: This abstract was not titled.
Below: "Georgian Living Room-Adam Style 1/4 inch scale."
Below: "Louis Quinge Boudoir Scale 1/4 " = 1 ft, Room 14" by 16". "
Below: "Queen Anne Period Living-Room 1/4" scale."
Below: Tudor Book Room Scale 1/4 inch
Below: Italian Renaissance Period Living Room
Below: This architectural drawing was untitled.
Below: "Labeled Concour 3 hours."
Below: This architectural drawing was untitled.
Below: "Empire Living Room."
Below: This architectural drawing in untitled.
Below: "Late 18th Century English Dining Room."
Below: "Pent House Roof Garden."
Below: This architectural drawing is untitled.
Below: "American Living Room 19th Century." This is the original drawing and below it is a photograph of same found among Dorothy's possessions in 2015
Below: Living Room Early American
Below: These art creations are untitled.
Below: A series of charcoal drawings of nude and semi nude models.
Below: A series of charcoal portraits of live models.
Below: Water Color Paintings.
Below: Oil Color Paintings
Below: Original Prints
Below: An original metal plate used to make prints, followed by 2 prints using that plate.
Below: Charcoal drawings.
Below: Pencil sketch of button design and 4 clay buttons
Below: Jesso box
Below: Sculptures
A blind model posed for the next sculpture. Dorothy called this work "Oscar."
Below: Sometime, probably when Dorothy was in art school, she painted and sketched these portraits of her brother, Russ. It is unknown whether these were school assignments, or simply something she chose to do at home.
Dorothy graduated from Columbus Art School in 1933. At left: A newspaper article shows the 11 students in her graduating class. Below: The graduation invitation for the commencement exercises and Dorothy's card.
Below: It is unknown whether Dorothy was just a spectator or a artist participant in the "Faique" Art Show's auction, described below that was held by the Columbus Art League in 1935. But the caption of the first photographs states, "1: Three spectators at the "Faique" Art Show admire Mr. William B. Grove's take-off of a popular cigaret commercial. Left to right are: Miss Marie Wagner, Miss Dorothy Leach and Miss Veda Walsh. [Note: One of the featured artists was Mark Russell, one of Dorothy's instructors at the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts School and another person photographed with Dorothy, and listed as a spectator, was a fellow graduate of the school, Veda Walsh (also shown in the graduation photograph.]
At Left: This sketch was found among Dorothy's art school drawings. At least one of the people in this sketch, Esther Mueller, was in art school with Dorothy. Below: Another sketch found in Dorothy's collection.
Soon after graduation, Dorothy was hired to be a commercial artist with the advertizing department at Dunn-Taft's Department Store in Columbus, Ohio. LINK TO Dorothy's illustrations at DUNN-TAFTS. After Dunn-Tafts closed in 1941, Dorothy worked for 30 years as a commercial artist in the advertizing department at the Lazarus Department store in Columbus, Ohio: LINK TO Dorothy's illustrations at LAZARUS.
Return to biography of Dorothy Ann Leach
Contact person for this website is Susan Snyder: susanleachsnyder@gmail.com
