Leila Locke

Leila Elizabeth Locke (née Chaplin, 27 April 1936 – 11 April 1992) was a Guyanese artist. Born in England, she lived in Georgetown, Guyana, from 1958 until her death, taking out Guyanese citizenship in the early 1970s.

Background

Leila Chaplin was born on 27 April 1936 in London, and was raised in Dartington, Devon. In 1957 she obtained a Diploma in Art Education from Bath Academy of Art, Corsham, specialising in painting, sculpture and pottery. She often returned to teaching in various schools in the UK and Guyana thereafter. At Corsham she had met sculptor Donald Locke. She travelled to Guyana to marry him in 1958 and in 1959 they moved to Edinburgh, while Donald studied at Edinburgh School of Art for four years. She had three children with Donald Locke: Hew Locke (born 1959), Jonathan Locke (born 1962) and Corinne Locke (born 1964). The couple divorced in the late 1970s. one of which, "Claudette Reading", won the Burnham Gold Medal and was her first to enter the National Collection.

1965 – Contributed illustrations to New World magazine.

1967 – Her first solo exhibition at The John F Kennedy Library, titled "Paintings 1966-1967".

1967 – Was part of group exhibition at the Chase Manhattan Bank. published by Longmans specifically for Guyana, showing local scenes and modelled on local children.

1971 – Illustrated "My Lovely Native Land: An Anthology of Guyana" by Elma and A. J. Seymour, with a cover by Aubrey Williams.

1972 - Exhibited in the official Carifesta Guyana '72 "International Art Exhibition".

1973 – Solo exhibition at The John F Kennedy Library.

1984 – Became Production Manager at the WRSM (Women's Revolutionary Socialist Movement) owned Vanceram Tableware factory.

Early 1990s – Set up the Timehri Ceramics Studio.

2019 - featured artists in "A - Z of Caribbean Art", published by Robert & Christopher Publishers, Trinidad and Tobago. ISBN 978-976-95344-9-0

Locke produced public artworks such as a ceramic bust of Forbes Burnham in Kitty, Georgetown (circa 1986), four tiled panels at the Burial Place of President Burnham, and murals at the Critchlow Labour College and The Royal Bank of Baroda (1970).