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Jean Leason Hitch
Jean began her artistic career in Melbourne, Australia. She attended Parahan Technical Art School in Melbourne, where she studied commercial design and painting. Under the tutelage of her father, Percy Leason, a professional painter, a well-known cartoonist, and a staunch supporter of the tonal tradition of painting, Jean was schooled in the elementary principles of the tonal technique. Jean's work carries on this tradition in her personal style of painting. The interplay of light and dark is balanced in the direct observation of the visual image, producing a real, life-like image on the canvas. Her floral studies demonstrate a sureness of brush stroke control and a clear understanding of the balance of tone, value and color.
Arriving in the United States in 1937, Jean began her career doing odd jobs in commercial studios. In 1943, she was appointed Curator of Art at the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences, New York, where she was assigned the responsibility of revitalizing the exhibits through the development of dioramas. Her creation of painted backgrounds for life-like habitats greatly enhanced the educational interest in the natural history of Staten Island. She was also responsible for the museum's educational program and conducted classes for adults and children. In addition, Jean encouraged a resurgence of if interest in art on Staten Island with an active exhibition program for Island artists. While at the museum, she also began her restoration career and restored paintings from the museum's collection and other notable historic collections.
Later in her career, Jean was an active member in several art organizations in New York such as the Allied Artists of America, American Artist Professional League, Hudson Valley Art Association, and in 1971, served as vice president for the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.
In 1973, Jean moved with her artist husband, Robert A. Hitch, from Staten Island, New York to Yarmouthport, Massachusetts. Since moving to Cape Cod, Jean has been an active member of the artistic community, served on the Board of Directors of the Cape Cod Art Association, and continues her career in art restoration, painting, and conducting painting classes for adults. Jean continues to be an active member of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, the Hudson Valley Art Association, and recently named honorary fellow by the Allied Artists of America, and the American Artists Professional League, New York. She has won several achievement awards for her painting including the Kathleen Grumbacher Award, the Council of American Artists Society Award, the Anna Hyatt Huntington Bronze Trophy Award, the Margaret Dole Portrait Award, and the Cape Cod Art Association Bronze Medal. In 1953, Jean was listed in Who's Who in American Art. Many of her still life studies, portraits, and primitive studies are found in both public and private collections throughout the country. She is currently exhibiting at the Artist’s Gallery in Dennis, Massachusetts.