Albert Chevallier Tayler (1862–1925) was an English artist who specialised in portrait and genre painting, but was also involved in the

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

methods of the

Newlyn School The Newlyn School was an art colony of artists based in or near Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, on the south coast of Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early twentieth century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminis ...

. He studied at Heatherley's School of Art,

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

and with avant-garde painters in Paris. He was educated at

Bloxham School Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is an independent co-educational day and boarding school of the British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham, three miles (5 km) from the town of Banbury in Oxfordshir ...

in Oxfordshire.

Early years with the Newlyn School

He is most known for his twelve-year involvement with the

Newlyn Newlyn ( kw, Lulyn: Lu 'fleet', Lynn/Lydn 'pool') is a seaside town and fishing port (the largest fishing port in England) in south-west Cornwall, UK.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Newlyn lies on the shore of Moun ...

School of painting. The Newlyn School was spawned after many international artists followed the

En plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

school in France, whereby artists would leave Paris and take up rural life in small colonies of kindred painters. Thence, as artists returned from France to their own countries, they sought out remote locations to congregate and pursue the En plein air method. The Newlyn School is also known as British Impressionism. A typical painting of this early period is ''A Dress Rehearsal'' (1888), hung in the

National Museums Liverpool National Museums Liverpool, formerly National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside, comprises several museums and art galleries in and around Liverpool, England. All the museums and galleries in the group have free admission. The museum is a non ...

. This painting makes use of light and shadow and is based upon a genre scene as might have occurred in Cornwall. The Newlyn School drew their subjects from everyday life in the local area. Other associate artists of the Newlyn School were

Henry Scott Tuke Henry Scott Tuke (12 June 1858 – 13 March 1929), was an English visual artist; primarily a painter, but also a photographer. His most notable work was in the Impressionist style, and he is best known for his paintings of nude boys and you ...

, Thomas Cooper Gotch, Caroline Gotch, Stanhope Forbes, Leghe Suthers, Walter Langley and Elizabeth Armstrong. On arrival in Newlyn, he lived in lodgings in Henry & Elizabeth Maddern's Belle Vue House with Forbes and Blandford Fletcher.

The London era

During the 1890s he maintained connections with the art centre of London and exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy; however, at about the turn of the century he moved to London and converted to a more genteel, urban lifestyle. Tayler began painting more grand scenes of the cities of Europe. In 1901 he painted one of his largest and most masterful works, '' The Ceremony of the Garter'', depicting the famous late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

scene at Eltham Palace in which the fallen garter of

Joan of Kent Joan, Countess of Kent (29 September 1326/1327 – 7 August 1385), known as The Fair Maid of Kent, was the mother of King Richard II of England, her son by her third husband, Edward the Black Prince, son and heir apparent of King Edward III. ...

is picked up by King Edward III. This event circa 1348 led to Edward III founding the Order of the Garter. By 1903 Tayler was renowned and was commissioned to paint a large panel at the Royal Exchange in London; the resultant painting of ''The Five Kings'' depicts Kings Edward III of England, David of Scotland, Peter I of Cyprus, John of France and Waldemar IV of Denmark partaking in a feast hosted by the Master of the Society of Vintners in London in 1363.From the official website of the Society of Vintners Tayler was an avid

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er, and in 1905 produced a set of twelve watercolours of famous and mostly royal cricket players. Lord Leverhulme used the series to produce lithographs and advertise his

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

soap products. The promotion proved popular, and the National Portrait Gallery, London has nine of these images hanging. In 1906 he painted a famous picture of a cricket match in progress, '' Kent vs Lancashire at Canterbury'', which was commissioned by Kent. In June 2006, the county sold the painting at auction for £680,000, a record price for a cricket painting.Auction feat for cricket painting
bbc.co.uk, 27 June 2006. File:Albert Chevallier Tayler - The Grey Drawing Room 1917.jpg, The Grey Drawing Room File:Albert Chevallier Tayler - The Quiet Hour 1913.jpg, The Quiet Hour File:Albert Chevallier Tayler - Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1909.jpg, Elizabeth Barrett Browning by Albert Chevallier Tayler 1909 File:Albert Chevallier Tayler - Girl Shelling Peas 1886.jpg, Girl Shelling Peas

References

Bibliography

* Cooper, John, ''A Visitor's Guide to the National Portrait Gallery, London, * ''English Literary Magazine'', Volume XXXV (1906) * Royal Academy, London * Strandberg Art Gallery

External links

Albert Chevallier Tayler at artcyclopedia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tayler, Albert Chevallier 1862 births 1925 deaths 19th-century English painters 20th-century English painters Alumni of the Heatherley School of Fine Art Alumni of the Royal Academy Schools English male painters Newlyn School of Artists People educated at Bloxham School 19th-century English male artists 20th-century English male artists