William Leighton Leitch began his career as an apprentice to a sign painter in Glasgow. In 1824, he became a scene painter at the Glasgow Theatre Royal, continuing in this line of work after he moved to London in 1830. Leitch travelled to Italy and Sicily where he stayed for several years and earned his living giving painting lessons to aristocratic families. He returned to London in 1837, and from 1842 gave drawing and watercolour lessons to Queen Victoria and other members of the royal family. In 1862, he was elected to the New Society of Painters in Watercolours and he served as vice president for twenty years. Between 1833 and 1861, he exhibited at the Royal Academy.