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Hubert Leslie

(1890-1976), Silhouettist, entertainer and teacher

Hubert John Leslie

Sitter in 1 portrait
Artist of 700 portraits
Born in Rawlpindi, British India, Leslie studied at the Sheffield School of Art, and spent a year studying under Tonks at the Slade School of Art. During the Great War he published cartoons and performed as an entertainer, sending back to his family pieces of trench art, including a silhouette of his wife cut in brass salvaged from an old artillery shell. He went on to develop dual careers as a silhouette artist and as an entertainer in schools. From his first booking in 1919, he built up a one-man show which toured Britain's public schools, combining sketching, elocution, juggling, mental telepathy, songs and mental feats.

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Hubert Leslie, by Peter Francis - NPG x20019

Hubert Leslie

by Peter Francis
bromide print, 12 January 1974
NPG x20019

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