Excerpt from Four Hundred Humorous Illustrations
The father was a man of real ability, possessing considerable skill with the pencil, and from him, no doubt, the son inherited his special talent. And, again, on the mother’s side there was relationship with the great scholar Richard Bentley, so that on both sides of the house young Leech had considerable advantages so far as mental heredity was concerned.
At a very early age the mother observed the extraordinary aptitude for drawing that her boy possessed, and did all in her power to encourage it. When young Leech was only three years old, he was found by the family friend, the great artist, Flaxman, seated on his mother’s knee, drawing with much gravity. The sculptor pronounced his sketch to be remarkable, and gave the following advice Do not let him be cramped with lessons in drawing, but let his genius follow its own bent. He will astonish the world. A few years after this, some more of the youthful artist’s drawings were shown to the celebrated sculptor, and, after examination, he said The boy must be an artist he will be nothing else or less.
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