Leonard Campbell Taylor (12 December 1874 – 1 July 1969) was a British painter, mainly of portraits and

interiors ''Interiors'' is a 1978 American drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It stars Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt, Richard Jordan, Diane Keaton, E. G. Marshall, Geraldine Page, Maureen Stapleton, and Sam Waterston. Allen's first full ...

in a traditional style. Among his patrons was the founding family of

Courtaulds Courtaulds was a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of fabric, clothing, artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 into Courtaulds ...

and the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. It is among the most prestigious specialist coll ...

. He was a member of the

Royal Academy 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 pur ...

Biography

Taylor was born on 12 December 1874 in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England. He was the son of James Taylor, organist at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

and for the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. He studied at the

Dragon School ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

preparatory school when it was still located in

Crick Road Crick Road is a road in North Oxford, England, an area characterised by large Victorian Gothic villas. Location At the western end is the Bradmore Road and at the eastern end is Fyfield Road. To the north is Norham Road and to the south are ...

under its first headmaster, Rev. A. E. Clark. He was the second of four brothers at the school, and designed a front cover for the school magazine, ''

The Draconian ("Reach for the Sun") , established = 1877 , closed = , type = Preparatory day and boarding school and Pre-Prep school , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Emma Goldsm ...

'', in 1900. From 1895 to 1900, he was a student as the

Royal Academy School 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 pur ...

. He went on to study at

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

with a scholarship and then the

Ruskin School The Ruskin School of Art, known as the Ruskin, is an art school at the University of Oxford, England. It is part of Oxford's Humanities Division. History The Ruskin grew out the Oxford School of Art, which was founded in 1865 and later became ...

in Oxford, before moving on to the

St John's Wood Art School The St John's Wood Art School ( The Wood or Calderon's Art School) was an art school in St John's Wood, north London, England. The Art School was established in 1878 and was located on Elm Tree Road. It was founded by two art teachers, Elíseo Ab ...

, in London in 1905. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served as an official war artist. He served with the Surrey Volunteer Regiment from 1916 to 1917; he became a lieutenant with the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

in 1918. His war art is primarily "documentary" in nature and painstakingly accurate. In 1919, he painted ''

Herculaneum Dock Herculaneum Dock was part of the Port of Liverpool in Liverpool, England. It was at the south end of the Liverpool dock system, on the River Mersey. To the north it was connected to Harrington Dock. The dock was named after the Herculaneum Pot ...

'', a depiction of ships in

dazzle camouflage Dazzle camouflage, also known as razzle dazzle (in the U.S.) or dazzle painting, is a family of ship camouflage that was used extensively in World War I, and to a lesser extent in World War II and afterwards. Credited to the British marine ar ...

at Liverpool's docks, rendered in accurate detail. Taylor exhibited primarily in London and Paris, and lived in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1899, and became a full member in 1931.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Leonard Campbell 1874 births 1969 deaths 19th-century English painters 20th-century English painters Alumni of St John's Wood Art School Alumni of the Royal College of Art Alumni of the Ruskin School of Art Artists from Oxford British Army personnel of World War I British war artists English male painters People educated at Cheltenham College People educated at The Dragon School Artists from Suffolk Royal Academicians Royal Navy personnel of World War I World War I artists 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists