Bernard Sleigh

Bernard Sleigh (1872 – 7 December 1954) was an English mural painter, stained-glass artist, illustrator and wood engraver, best known for An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland, Newly Discovered and Set Forth, which depicts numerous characters from legends and fairytales. There is a copy of The Anciente Mappe in the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists between 1923 and 1928. As a young man, Sleigh was greatly inspired by the work of George MacDonald and William Morris. The marriage was dissolved in about 1914.

Sleigh retired to Chipping Campden in 1937, like his mentor Arthur Gaskin, moving into Old Forge Cottage in Cider Mill Lane. His imagery by then had turned from romantic medievalism to a world peopled by fairies and elves. He died on 7 December 1954, leaving an estate valued at £2,187, and probate was granted to Miss Ivy Ann Ellis. Ellis had been "his regular collaborator and constant companion right up until the time of death".