Michael Leonard was born in India in 1933 to British parents. He returned to England in 1945 after the war and completed two years of National Service. In 1954 Michael Leonard enrolled on a course in Commercial Design and Illustration at St Martin’s School of Art, London. By the time he finished in 1957 he was already working as a freelance illustrator.
Michael Leonard quickly became a successful commercial illustrator and produced work in multiple illustration genres; editorial, advertisement, greetings cards and book covers.
Whilst professionally working as an illustrator in the day Michael Leonard spent his time at home exploring figurative fine art painting. By 1969 he was progressively spending more time painting. This eventually led to a departure from his full-time career as a commercial illustrator to become a full-time painter.
In 1972 his work as a painter was recognised by the gallery, Fischer Fine Art, London. Several of his paintings were exhibited in a group exhibition. By 1974 he had a solo exhibition with Fischer Fine Art, ‘Michael Leonard, Paintings, 1970-1974’. After his first solo show Michael Leonard permanently stopped working as an illustrator, and devoted himself to painting.
Michael Leonard currently exhibits artwork with Henry Miller Fine Art, a gallery which specialises in artworks focused on the male form.
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