(Richard) Hayley Lever was born in Adelaide, Australia, in 1876.  After early studies at the Prince Alfred Cultural Institute in Adelaide, he used an inheritance to study in Europe, including the Acad?mie Julian in Paris, and in London.  He settled in St. Ives in Cornwall, where his luminous works of harbor scenes gained immediate acclaim. 

In 1912, at the urging of American painter Ernest Lawson, Lever moved to America, settling in New York.  He immediately fell in love with the American spirit, incorporating its unique energy into his many canvases of street scenes, landscapes, florals, and harbor scenes.  Lever was one of the most widely exhibited and collected painters of the day.  He received many awards, and his works were purchased by major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum in NYC, and The Phillips Collection, and Corcoran in Washington, D.C.  He worked throughout New England and maritime Canada, held a lifetime membership in the National Arts Club, taught at the Art Student’s League, and served as Director of the Studio Art Club in Mt. Vernon, NY.   Lever held memberships in most major American and  British societies, including the National Academy of Design and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.

Hayley Lever's paintings are a marriage of Impressionism and Post Impressionism, employing an energetic directional brushwork which charge the works with movement.  The paintings are more about paint, color, light and energy than about specific subject matter.  His compositions are always strong – most works injected with prominent well-placed blacks, which illuminate the color, and can make lights dazzle.  There is usually a touch of whimsy or play, even in the more serious or misty scenes.  It is said that he was deeply influenced by Van Gogh.  Yet his paintings remain distinctly “Lever” - and distinctly American. 

There is a current escalation of interest in Lever's works.  His auction record now approaches 160,000.00 USD.  There is little doubt that his popularity will continue to grow - particularly with today's heightened demand for good early 20th century American art.  He is currently represented in 30 museums, listed in 64 books, and 3 magazine articles. 

We have had the pleasure of offering 5 Hayley Lever paintings in the last year.  Three are now sold.  Currently in stock are the newly purchased The Old Swimming Hole, 1925 (above), and the watercolor "Devonshire River" (below), painted in England in 1906.  Both are from the collection Leonard Clayton, Lever's New York dealer and supporter during his lifetime, and bear labels of provenance.

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