Made For This Place: The Leighton Legacy

The Leighton Art Centre is where art and nature come together in Alberta’s foothills.

Perched on a grassy ridge between Calgary and Millarville, enjoying a sweeping view of Alberta’s Foothills and the Rocky Mountains, sits a jewel. This particular treasure is not of the mineral variety, and it’s not something to be traded, sold or otherwise profited from. Rather, it is a place. An extraordinary place born out of a legacy.

The Leighton Art Centre is both a Heritage Home Museum, Art Gallery, and Education Centre occupying the picturesque house and land formerly owned by two prominent Alberta artists: A.C. Leighton and Barbara Leighton.

After a lifetime of contributing to Alberta’s art community, Barbara, who outlived her famous husband, decided to turn their beautiful home into a space to promote the enjoyment of art. At the same time, in 1970, she founded an art education centre in a nearby abandoned schoolhouse. After sixteen years of success, upon her death in 1986, Barbara left the entire property to the charitable foundation that continues to oversee the Leightons’ remarkable legacy.