Winter in Connecticut                                                                                                              Estate with Gunite Pool

J. A. L E I T Z 

( b. 1961, American.)

American painter and mathematician.  His family history spans both the sciences and the arts, from architectural engineering to interior design.  Leitz began his artistic training with formal instruction in color theory and expressive use of oils, water color, pastels, ink and graphite.  His first public showing was in 1967 at the Scott-Fanton museum.  

Early developmental influences stemmed from American museums where he learned the rudiments of composition and technique from studying the work of old masters and made rapid strides on his own.   Simultaneously, Leitz studied mathematics and later became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Collections of major influence include the Frick Collection in New York, Hartford's Wadsworth Atheneum,  the New Britain Muesum of American Art, the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.   American and European artists of influence include Pennsylvania's Peale Family, Frederic Edwin Church, Charles Ethan Porter, Thomas Gainsborough, J.M.W. Turner, and Jean Chardin.

His artistic interpretation manifests itself through a distinctive tonalist palette, capturing in a painterly manner a unique moment with a sense of time and place.  His subject matter includes a wide range of genres, including traditional portraits, still-life, landscapes, marinescapes, cityscapes and abstraction of the above. 

In the 1990's, he painted in the studio of M. Roy.  In search of new techniques, Leitz most recently studied with abstract master Landfield at the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design where Leitz developed an abstract expression that merged the techniques of old master paintings with a modern representation of the transient qualities of light, atmosphere and geometry.

Leitz has traveled with sketchbook in hand to cities on three continents, the most influential being Paris, where he was introduced to Mssr. Popoff  of  Galerie Popoff & Cie, rue du Fbg-St-Honore, who encouraged Leitz to pursue the French tradition of exhibiting at the Salon d'Automne. 

His works are handled by select galleries in New York, Greenwich, Canton, Essex, Chester, West Hartford as well as Boston and Nantucket.  His works enjoy public approval and commissioned works are included in private collections here and abroad.

He and his wife Rosemary often travel to the pink sand beaches of Bermuda that have become their favorite retreat and the ideal place to capture unique light and color.  Leitz paints and resides in West Hartford, Connecticut and may be reached at 860.523.8598.

Past & Present Exhibitors

West Hartford, CT .   www.elmartgallery.com

West Hartford, CT .  La Perla FINE JEWELERS,  971 Farmington Avenue, 06119

New York, NY . Alexander Raydon Gallery, 1091 Madison Ave., 10028

Greenwich, CT .  Cavelier Galleries Inc, Greenwich Avenue, 06830

Canton, CT .  Lafalce-Freshler Fine Art, 81 Albany Turnpike, 06019

Essex, CT .   Fleur de Lys Gallerie, 35 Main Street, 06426

Chester, CT. The Caron Gallery, 4 Maple Street, 06412

Boston, MA .  The Guido Gallery, 118 Newbury Street, 02116

Nantucket, MA .  Cavelier Galleries Inc., 7 Salem Street, 02554

Paris, FR .  Salon du Automne 2003