British pre-Raphaelite artist Edmund Blair Leighton (1853 – 1922) crafted meticulously detailed, romantic medieval and regency scenes. A student of the Royal Academy who also exhibited there for over 40 years, Leighton left a job in a tea merchant’s office to pursue painting. Painting courtships and weddings, his work often focuses on fabric that beautifully flows and ripples, conveying both motion and rest. Leighton’s idealized historical scenes are popular poster reproductions.