Printmaker Leonard Marchant was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He was best known for his mezzotints, reviving a difficult medium that captured the full tonal range needed to faithfully copy paintings and other works of art in earlier days, but which, thanks to the painstaking work required, gradually lost favor as photography took hold. He studied at St Martin's School of Art and the Central School of Arts and Crafts, both in London, where he later taught etching for 20 years. His works were included in over 100 exhibitions during his lifetime. He died in Shrewsbury, England.