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Roy Leadbeater: Local sculptor displayed a talent for the art of life

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He never ran out of ideas. But just as artist Roy Leadbeater predicted would happen, one day, he ran out of time.

The prolific Edmonton sculptor and painter died May 9 at the age of 89. Noted for his large works, such as Genesis, a sculpture in the Citadel Theatre’s indoor garden, and his more whimsical pieces, such as Aurora’s Dance, the 132-metre-long sculptural wall that graced 104 Street for many years, Leadbeater was remembered at his memorial service earlier this month as a loving father, and stepfather.

But tributes from friends and family also emphasized that Leadbeater had many facets. Soft-spoken, dashing and gentlemanly, he had a penchant for sports cars, motorcycles and fashion, and was drawn to women who were strong and accomplished.

Roy and Evelyn Leadbeater at the Art Gallery of Alberta’s Holly Ball in 2010.

Survived by his third wife, the elegant Evelyn Leadbeater, whom he married in 2006, Leadbeater was born in England in 1928. Under circumstances that were never fully understood, Roy and his brother were found, abandoned, in a London apartment when Roy was about eight. The two ended up in at Penkhull Children’s Home, which Roy later revealed as a surprisingly good place to grow up. He formed a close relationship with a house mother, Miss Jenny Wade, who watched over him with care until he was 14, when he went to work at a local hospital. He did connect with his grandmother at one point, who was a member of the famous Wedgewood pottery clan.

Perhaps because of few ties to home, Leadbeater developed a ready sense of adventure as a young man, volunteering at 16 to join the British merchant marine. He left the service at 18 and tried to become a firefighter or a police officer, but was deemed too short. Undeterred, and inspired by a poster advertising the Palestine police force, he travelled to the Middle East where he joined that force in the late 1940s.

Later, Leadbeater returned to England, but he chafed at the rigid class system, and yearned to make his mark elsewhere. He married his first wife, Mabel, in 1951 and the two sailed for Canada in 1953, making their way to Edmonton upon arrival.

Attracted to the wild northern environment, Leadbeater worked in Uranium City, Sask., for a time, where he relished hiking the rugged landscape. To him, this was Canada. He often said of his time up north that “every time you climbed a hill, there was a lake on the other side.” That summed up Leadbeater’s take on life in some ways.

“Roy’s attitude toward life was that the glass was half-full,” said stepson Brent Buchanan, master of ceremonies at the memorial. “He was always positive and looking forward to the next phase, the next commission, the next project.”

A power engineer, Leadbeater always worked full-time to support his family, tackling art in his off hours. He began taking drawing classes at the University of Alberta around the time his first two children were born in Edmonton, pursuing his passion at the kitchen table, where he sketched or made small sculptures from clay, said his daughter, Kim McGillivray. In 1957, the family moved from Edmonton to Calgary, and in 1967, Leadbeater received his first big commission — a sculpture for Expo 67 in Montreal. In 1971, Roy and Mabel separated and he moved back to Edmonton. 

In 1975, he married Betty Buchanan, a widow with six children. He never had a head for the business side of art, and so relied on his wife to manage that portion of their lives. In the mid-1980s, Betty, a teacher, took a leave from her job to open Sculptcast Foundry with Roy, which they managed together for a few years. It was a place for Roy to create his large-scale pieces, and also a hub for other artists in the community.

Sculptor and painter Roy Leadbeater in a 2000 photo. Bruce Edwards/Postmedia. 

In 1996, Leadbeater retired from power engineering and was able to spend more time on his art, although the larger pieces had become difficult physically to construct. That’s when he began to paint more, and to create smaller items. The mantles of many Albertans are graced with Roy’s signature bronze sculptural candle holders, of which he made hundreds over the years.

Relatives say he was not a typical family man. He was a natty dresser, known for a collection of pocket scarves, and wore his Gucci shoes even when sculpting. Some children remembered camping excursions with dad; Roy’s children enjoyed gallery visits and learned to appreciate art and artists.

“His interest in art gave us an exposure other kids wouldn’t necessarily have had,” said daughter Kim.

Divorce wasn’t common in the 1970s, but Leadbeater’s granddaughter and Kim’s daughter, Andrea Korney, said her grandparents had the “gift of divorcing well.”

“He was my closest grandfather, which goes to my point,” she said. “Even though they were divorced, which was unique, I was always encouraged to have relationships with both (grandmothers). He married Betty the year I was born — and in my mind I always had two grandmas, which was so great.”

Leadbeater’s work is held in many private collections, and is widely visible in the public sphere in Calgary and Edmonton. Pieces of Eight is on display at the Courtyard Marriott in downtown Edmonton. Balancing Act is in downtown Calgary’s Municipal Plaza. 

There is a great story behind the giant, blue cylindrical piece that rests on the north side of Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre downtown. It was originally a commission placed outside College Plaza on the south side, but new owners of the building in the 1980s didn’t want it. They had arranged to have it taken down and sold for scrap for $25. Leadbeater heard about the plan just in time to rescue his work, which he repainted and was donated. 

He had a passion for drawing until the very end of his life; he was still sketching in the weeks before his death. His work gave him direction, but it also gave him respite, and repose.

“When I’m working, a deep peace comes over me,” Leadbeater told the Journal in 2001. “It transcends everything I know and it’s a wonderful feeling.”

lfaulder@postmedia.com


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