Nancy Leitch was born 19 Jan 1915 in Pittsburgh, PA, to Robert L. and Anna C. (Miller) Leitch. At the age of twelve, Leitch began her formal study of fine art under Christian Walter, President of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. As a high school student she won many awards in local and national competitions for her paintings and sculpture, including a scholarship to attend the Carnegie Institute of Technology. During her time there she befriended Eliza Miller and Janet de Coux with whom she would maintain lifelong friendships. In 1936, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sculpture from Carnegie Institute of Technology, College of Fine Arts. After graduation Leitch continued to live in the Pittsburg area and maintain a sculpture studio. Her favorite subjects were animals of all kinds, but particularly horses and dogs. She continued to exhibit energetically and won many awards including a Tuition Grant to attend the Cranbrook Academy of Art.

In 1943, Leitch attended Cranbrook to study sculpture with Carl Milles, and was also a student of Maija Grotell, Howard Dearstyne, and Ernest Scheyer. She counted Jon Johnson, Margueritte Kimball, Signe Midelfars, Ruth Robinson, George Koren, Frances Ericsson, and Bob Lohman among her friends during this time. After finishing her first year in the program she was asked to return as Maija Grotell’s studio assistant, a position that she treasured and reflected upon often in her later years. Two large pieces that she created during those years, Rocky Mountain Goat and Rhinoceros, were purchased by Carl Milles for permanent addition to his home at Millesgarden. Several letters from her correspondence with Milles can be found at Millesgarden as well. Leitch left Cranbrook in 1945 to return to her family in Pittsburgh. She received her MFA in Ceramic Sculpture from Cranbrook in 1946.

In 1948, Leitch married Urban Hoffman in Pittsburgh and a year later gave birth to a daughter, Valerie. The marriage did not last very long and Leitch soon began teaching art courses at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. In 1952, she moved with her immediate family to Newport News, Virginia and took a position in the Warwick High School art department where she developed an interest in weaving. During her eight years there she continued to work on her art and exhibit, in addition to pursuing courses in education and art at the College of William & Mary, University of Virginia, and the Hampton Institute.

Leitch became the assistant art professor at Longwood College in Farmville, Virginia in 1961. Her courses focused on art history and she received a Ford Foundation fellowship in 1964 for the study of Asian art, which allowed her to attend several courses and exhibitions on the subject. During her years at Longwood, she had numerous exhibitions, commissions, and several one-woman shows. She retired with the title of professor in 1977.

Even in her retirement, Leitch remained active in her professional work exhibiting and taking commissions and she continued to pursue her educational interests by auditing geology and archaeology courses at Longwood. In 1988, Nancy Leitch was diagnosed with cancer and later, Alzheimer’s. She passed away 24 Mar 2008 at the age of 93.