Cooper Hewitt says...
Edith (Edie) MacNaughton Leighton was born on August 6, 1924, in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bradford Woods. She was the daughter of Wilma, an Army Red Cross nurse during World War I, and James Leighton, a civil engineer. She had a reputation for confidence and good cooking at a young age, having earned the nickname of “Flash” in high school. She attended the Carnegie Mellon Institute of Technology, majoring in home economics, but dropped out before graduation. During the war she worked as a welder in a shipyard in Pittsburgh. At age 21, she left home for New York City where she met George Rickey, who was studying at the Institute of Fine Arts in New York. At the time Edie was working as an editorial assistant at Carwil, a publisher of the trade magazine Hosiery and Underwear Review for which she planned photo shoots, assisted photographers, and managed office work. Edie also earned a living as an artist’s model at the Art Students League. In 1946 when George asked their mutual neighbor and acquaintance Eleanor Emery if she would model for him, Eleanor recommended vivacious Edie instead. Her regular visits to George’s studio sparked their romance.
Shortly after they were married in 1947, Edie proudly took to the role of artist’s wife. She was the business manager for her husband’s studio and an enthusiastic promoter of his art. She received a salary for her work, which allowed her to build a library of over 300 books that informed her future collecting. Known for her fashionable presentation, she commissioned pieces of clothing and jewelry, forming long-lasting relationships with designers. Together the charismatic couple raised two sons, Philip and Stuart. Edie travelled with George to live and work with him side-by-side at university campuses, exhibition openings, and at their apartment and studio in Berlin, making important connections in the cultural community internationally. George and Edie amassed a significant collection of modern art which they gifted to Muhlenberg College, where George had taught in the 1940s. She died on June 24, 1995.
