Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Leyland, Joseph Bentley
LEYLAND, JOSEPH BENTLEY (1811–1851), sculptor, born at Halifax on 31 March 1811, was son of Roberts Leyland, a well-known naturalist. Early in life he showed a talent for modelling, and adopted sculpture as a profession. He exhibited at Manchester (1832) the model of a greyhound and a colossal statue of ‘Spartacus.’ In 1843 he completed a large head of ‘Satan,’ which he sent to London for exhibition. He resided for a time in London, and studied design under Benjamin Robert Haydon [q. v.] A statue by him of ‘Kilmeny, the Sinless Maiden,’ was purchased for the Literary and Philosophical Society of Halifax. Perhaps Leyland's most important work was a statue of Dr. Beckwith of York, which was placed in York Minster. Leyland did not exhibit at the Royal Academy, but in 1834 and 1839 sent models of groups of hounds to the Society of British Artists in Suffolk Street. His group of African bloodhounds was described by Landseer as ‘the noblest modern work of its kind.’ It is now, with a colossal figure, ‘The Thracian Falconer,’ in the Salford Museum. Leyland died at Halifax on 26 Jan. 1851, aged 39.
[Redgrave's Dict. of Artists; Art Journal, 1851; private information.]