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Born in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, England, 1928.
He carries on the tradition of his ancestors. His grandmother was Maud Louisa Wedgwood of Northwood, Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent. Her father, Josiah Wedgwood gave her hand in marriage to George Leadbeater, July 2nd, 1891. Her father was a direct descendant of the famous potter, Josiah Wedgwood.
After serving in the British Merchant Navy studied drawing at Birmingham School of Art.

Emigrated to Canada 1953.
Studied drawing on a part time basis at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, under H.G. Glyde. After 38 years of artistic practice, Roy Leadbeater is just happy to paint and sculpt for himself. "I've always believed that some artists are like physicists - they want to know the answers behind life and are fascinated with the unknown" explains the 79-year-old artist and former power engineer. "I'm interested in asking what life and living is all about - asking questions of the invisible world and making that invisible world visible" says Leadbeater, who has long explored similar themes. "I'll never quit. One of the great advantages of being in the arts, or anything creative, is that you never run out of ideas. What you run out of is time."

Awards and Grants

  • 1978 Grant from Government of Alberta to assist with the London exhibition
  • 1980 Awarded Allied Arts medal by Royal Institute of Canadian Architects


Exhibitions

  • 1961 Winnipeg Show, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB 
  • 1962 Open Air Exhibition of Sculpture, National Gallery of Art, Ottawa, ON 
  • 1962 Quebec Provincial, Musee de Quebec, Quebec City 
  • 1963 Alberta Society of Artists, Allied Art Centre, Calgary, AB 
  • 1964 Winnipeg Show, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, MB 
  • 1965 Sacred Art, St. Dunstans University, Charlottetown, PEI 
  • 1966 One Man Show, Canadian Art Galleries, Calgary, AB 
  • 1968 One Man Show, Canadian Art Galleries, Calgary, AB 
  • 1968 Quebec Provincial, Musee de Quebec, Quebec City 
  • 1969 Environment '69, Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, AB (Government of Alberta) 
  • 1970 Environment '70, Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, AB (Government of Alberta) 
  • 1971 One Man Show, Canadiana House, Calgary, AB 
  • 1971 One Man Show, Lefebvre Gallery, Edmonton, AB 
  • 1972 One Man Show, Lefebvre Gallery, Edmonton, AB 
  • 1972 One Man Show, Galerie Dresdnere, Toronto, ON 
  • 1973 One Man Show, Glenbow Art Gallery, Calgary, AB 
  • 1973 Damkjar Burton Gallery, Hamilton, On 
  • 1977 Alberta Society of Artists, Glenbow Art Gallery, Calgary, AB (Juried Show) 
  • 1978 West End Gallery, Edmonton, AB 
  • 1978 Galerie Dresdnere, Toronto, ON 
  • 1978 Alwin Gallery, London, England 
  • 1979 Gallery West, Vancouver, BC 
  • 1979 Nickle Museum and Art Gallery, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB 
  • 1982 Gallery West, Vancouver, BC 
  • 1983 Vik Gallery, Edmonton, AB 
  • 1990 One Man Show, Edmonton, AB 
  • 1991 Kathleen Laverty Gallery, Edmonton, AB 
  • 1993 Virginia Christopher Gallery, Calgary, AB 
  • 1997 Scott Gallery, Edmonton, AB 
  • 1999 Hands That Shape, Calgary, AB (The Alberta Society of Artists Juried Show) 
  • 1999 The Works Festival of Visual Arts, Edmonton, AB 
  • 2000 Gallery 124, Edmonton, AB 
  • 2001 Gallery 124, Edmonton, AB


Films

  • 1967 This Land, CBC film featuring the building of the Kinetic Sculpture for the Four Western Provinces Pavilion, Expo '67, Montreal, PQ
  • 1968 Art in Alberta, Calgary and Region E.Y.V. Program
  • 1968 The Search, C.T.V. (sculpture shown in relation to the background of the North Saskatchewan River)
  • 1969 Alpha and Omega, Canada West Film, Calgary (Film showing sculpture in relation to the modern city)
  • 1971 Roy Leadbeater's Space Figures, BBC TV, Southampton Studios, England
  • 1979 Welding Techniques in Sculpture, ACCESS, Edmonton, AB 


Commissions

  • 1967 Four Western Provinces Pavilion, Expo '67, Montreal, PQ (kinetic sculpture 28' x 14' x 6')
  • 1967 Yates Memorial Centre, Lethbridge, AB (welded steel 8' x 2' x 2')
  • 1967 Science Building, Lethbridge College, Lethbridge, AB (welded steel 15' x 6' x 6')
  • 1969 Bradie Building, Calgary, AB (cast bronze fire and water fountain 15' x 8' x 8')
  • 1970 Galaxy, Bank of Canada, Calgary, AB (cast bronze 12' x 8' x 1')
  • 1970 Crown Trust Building, Calgary, AB (cast bronze 10' x 4' x 4')
  • 1970 Walter Mackenzie Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (welded steel 8' x 5' x 1')
  • 1972 College Plaza, Edmonton, AB (welded steel 21' x 14' x 6')
  • 1973 Hudson's Bay Oil and Gas Company Limited, Calgary, AB (cast bronze wall mural 4'9" x 3'6")
  • 1975 Government of Alberta Film Award (bronze plaques)
  • 1975 Alberta Art Foundation purchase
  • 1975 Ukrainian Memorial Committee, St Michael's Cemetery, Edmonton, AB (bronze cross 13')
  • 1977 Jason Goldsmith, Edmonton, AB (welded steel; interior: pedestals, planters, screens; exterior: 40' x 11', gates 8' x 6')
  • 1977 Plumb Construction, Edmonton, AB (cast bronze wall mural 10' x 7')
  • 1977 Loram International Ltd., Calgary, AB (cast bronze wall mural 5' x 4')
  • 1977 International Oilmen's Golf Tournament Award, Calgary, AB (bronze golfer 21" high)
  • 1978 The Nickel Museum, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB (cast bronze wall mural 15' x 10' x 1')
  • 1978 Executive Hangar, Saxon Group of Companies, Edmonton, AB (welded steel 15' x 3' x 4')
  • 1979 Calgary Petroleum Club, Calgary, AB (cast bronze 42' x 18' x 9')
  • 1979 CBC Building, Calgary, AB (welded steel 18' x 11' x 5')
  • 1979 Banff International Festival of Films for Television, Banff, AB (bronze 'Rocky' awards presented annually)
  • 1979 Marine Star, Pacific American Games, Auckland, NZ (cast bronze)
  • 1981 AGT Building, Calgary, AB (suspended sculpture cast bronze 20' x 10' x 12')
  • 1981 Banff International Festival of Films for Television (award presented by Bank of Montreal)
  • 1981 Fantasy Chariot, West Edmonton Mall, Edmonton, AB (bronze sculpture 6' x 8' x 4' 1982)
  • 1981 Cambridge Group for Deerfoot Shopping Centre, Calgary, AB (bronze sculpture in the round: 10' x 5' x 5')
  • 1983 Falconbridge Nickel (stainless steel sculpture sent to Sweden)
  • 1983 Canadian Utilities, Atco Building, Edmonton, AB (two bronze sculptures, each 42' x 20' x 8')
  • 1984 Genesis, Citadel Theatre, Edmonton: AB (welded Steel 17' x 6' x 6')
  • 1986 Medicine Hat Hospital, Medicine Hat, AB (wall mural - cast aluminum and stained glass 40' x 8' x 6')
  • 1986 Ashes to Life, Memorial to the Holocaust, Calgary, AB (cast bronze 17' x 6' x 6')
  • 1987 Joy, Calgary City Hall, Calgary, AB (cast bronze 8' x 6' x 2')
  • 1988 Sponsor Award; 1988 Calgary Olympics, Calgary, AB
  • 1989 Calgary City Hall, outdoor sculpture, Triangle Gallery (welded steel 20' x 8' x 3')
  • 1989 Banff Springs Golf Clubhouse (designed and produced entry doors and light fixtures)
  • 1993 Synergy, Tillyard Management Inc., Norcen Tower, Calgary, AB (aluminum 10' x 9' x 5'; now Servil Tower)
  • 1994 Moments, Medicine Hat College, Medicine Hat, AB (welded Steel 12' x 6' x 3'; relocated to Citadel Theatre, Edmonton, AB)
  • 1994 Alberta College, Edmonton, AB (welded Steel 7' x 2'6' x 2')
  • 1996 A Celebration of Life - Children Having Fun, Leigh's Meadow, Cardiff Echoes, Morinville, AB (welded Steel 7' x 14' x 12')
  • 2000 Aurora's Dance, Art and Design in Public Places 104 Street Project, Edmonton, AB (painted steel sculpture divider 440' x 1')
  • 2001 Ocean Moon, Thornton Court Hotel, Edmonton, AB (cast bronze and fabricated copper - sculpture in the round: 9' x 9' x 15')


Collections

  • Leadbeater sculptures, paintings and jewelry are in many private collections.