Perhaps no painter captures the romance of the English Regency better than Edmund Blair Leighton.
Just as we, today, are enchanted by the nostalgic feeling from this era of elegance and extravagance, balls and duels, eligible bachelors and debutantes, so too was Edmund Blair Leighton (1851 – 1922)—a Victorian painter of historical genre scenes.
Leighton loved to paint highly detailed, idealized depictions of the time of regency novelists like Jane Austen, and Romantic poets like Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Strictly speaking, the Regency covers the nine years from 1811 to 1820 when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales ruled England as Prince Regent before his accession as King George IV.
But the broadest definition of the period, characterized by trends in fashion, architecture, culture, and politics, begins with the French Revolution of 1789 and ends with Queen Victoria’s rise to power.
Known as “the first gentleman of England” for his charm and culture, George IV commissioned several immense building projects including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, the remodeling of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, and the foundation of King’s College London and the National Gallery.
The Regency was a time of war and glory overseas and cultural awakening at home.
![In 1816 by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7551/29326527833_5d21661ba9_o.jpg)
![The glance that enchants by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5803/29326527733_3a98f89e3b_o.jpg)
![A Wet Sunday Morning by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8327/29325607254_108b67a603_o.jpg)
![The Windmiller's Guest by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8052/29326527653_54cd314c7d_o.jpg)
![A Favor by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8487/29325607204_fb468b0d88_o.jpg)
![The Elopement by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8556/29326527613_84ac7dc40c_o.jpg)
![My Next-Door Neighbour by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5099/29326528443_2392b599ec_o.jpg)
![The Gallant Suitor by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5112/29325607144_52bc141063_o.jpg)
![The Golden Train by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/29326527543_733c4253c0_o.jpg)
![Wedding march by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5273/29918621446_1047edf6c3_o.jpg)
![The Wedding Register by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5124/29326527513_90bb006ae0_o.jpg)
![Lady in a Garden by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5245/29918621396_eb5353e1d8_o.jpg)
![The Lord Of Burleigh by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8758/29326527473_0ac9976454_o.jpg)
![The New Governess by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8777/29918621346_3218087933_o.jpg)
![Off by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8074/29326527383_41ed529b03_o.jpg)
![A Picnic Party by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5079/29325606974_079f0ddd0d_o.jpg)
![Sweet Solitude by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8403/29918621306_bb84fc3aba_o.jpg)
![Ribbons and Lace by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8260/29325606924_c07cfd7cec_o.jpg)
![Where there's a will by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5316/29326527143_9cbe717da8_o.jpg)
![Yes or No? by Edmund Blair Leighton](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8195/29918778326_69ffe1bbe1_o.jpg)