Emigrating to America from Great Britain in 1911 at the insistence of his close friend Ernest Lawson, Hayley Lever won rapid critical success for his novel style, a synthesis of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Fauvist techniques. His vivid use of color and bold brushstrokes were strongly influenced by Vincent Van Gogh, among others.

Still, Lever’s style was always difficult to define, a painter formed by the elements of the 19th century, yet thoroughly modern. Hayley Lever’s subjects varied, but he favored landscapes, seacoasts and harbor scene.

Richard Hayley Lever exhibited at the prestigious Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts more than 20 times, winning two medals, including a gold at their show in 1926. He won prizes at the Pan-Pacific Expo in 1915, the National Academy of Design in 1938 and at the Sesqui-Centennial Expo in Philadelphia in 1926.

Hayley Lever's work is in collections of virtually every major American museum, including the Met, the Corcoran Gallery and the Philips Collection in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.