Francis Lenn Taylor (December 28, 1897 – November 20, 1968) was an American art dealer and the father of actress
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
.
Life and career
He was born in Springfield, Illinois, the son of Elizabeth Mary (née Rosemond; 1869–1937) and Francis Marion Taylor (1860–1946). The family later moved to
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City () is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas River and Walnut River in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,974. The n ...
.
Francis began dealing in art in New York City for a wealthy uncle by marriage, Stephen Howard Young (22 May 1878 - 24 June 1972),
later, a friend of
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
after World War II.
Taylor married stage actress
Sara Sothern
Sara Sothern (born Sara Viola Warmbrodt; August 21, 1895 – September 11, 1994) was an American stage actress and the mother of actress Elizabeth Taylor.
Life and career
Sothern was born Sara Viola Warmbrodt in Arkansas City, Kansas, the daught ...
(whose real name was Sara Viola Warmbrodt and who was also from Arkansas City) in 1926 in New York.
They were the parents of Howard Taylor (1929-2020) and of
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...
(1932-2011).
Within a few years of his marriage, Taylor was transferred to Young's art
gallery
Gallery or The Gallery may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Art gallery
** Contemporary art gallery
Music
* Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s
Albums
* ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album
* ''Gallery'' (Gr ...
in London, England, where he and Sara lived for several years, and where their children were born. In April 1939, five months before the outbreak of World War II in Europe, they returned to the United States.
Taylor later ran an art gallery at
The Beverly Hills Hotel
The Beverly Hills Hotel, also called the Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows, is located on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. One of the world's best-known hotels, it is closely associated with Hollywood film stars, rock stars, and cel ...
in California.
He died at age 70 in Los Angeles, California. He is interred beside his widow in
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue.
The cemetery was ...
in Westwood, Los Angeles.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Francis Lenn
1897 births
1968 deaths
American art dealers
Elizabeth Taylor
People from Arkansas City, Kansas
People from Springfield, Illinois