Leger Galleries

In 1892 Joseph Leger (1867-1925) the son of an Irishman began to deal in pictures. He was an artist and a picture restorer so this minor departure was really a sideline to him. In his first year of dealing he sold several paintings including William Hogarth’s ‘The Heads of His Six Servants’ for the equivalent sum of approximately £10,000, something of a bargain. It is now in the Tate Gallery. Joseph Leger was by comparison to his London peers a modest dealer, he was yet to become well established and there were few private buyers and public purchases were few and far between. His son Harold Leger has conceived the idea while fighting in the trenches during World War I that he would take the embryonic gallery forward into the upper echelons of dealing. The gallery was then based in Duke Street, St. James’ but by 1930 Harold Leger had leased a building at the back of the then location in Duke Street as well as moving to the slightly more prestigious Old Bond Street. Furthermore he had established galleries in New York, Brussels and in 1931 opened in Paris and Chicago. A second gallery in the Belgian capital made the Leger empire now six galleries in all. However with a shortage of the right staff plus depressing times in the USA by the middle of the decade he had been forced to close all but his flag ship Bond Street establishment and a single gallery in Brussels.

At the beginning of the 1930’s his staff had been somewhat strengthened with the arrival of Lilian Browse who with her knowledge of the Camden Town Group introduced contemporary painting to the Leger. She was involved in organising exhibitions by William Scott, Stanley Spencer, Charles Ginner, Jack Yeats, Edward Ardizzone and many more up and coming artists of that time. From 1966 David Posnett, who had previously worked in the investment department of stockbrokers, Montagu, Loebl, Stanley in the City of London joined the Leger. With zero experience in Old Masters or even picture dealing per se, he had within a decade become an acknowledged expert in the field of Old Masters. In 1996, Posnett sold the company to the world renowned coin and medal dealer Spink and Son. The gallery is now renamed Spink Leger Pictures and continues to operate from its Old Bond Street premises.