William Francis Taylor, Sr (1883-1970) [NRA 1917-1970]
Canadian-American Impressionist landscape painter
W. F. Taylor ; W.F. Taylor ; W. Francis Taylor ; William Francis Taylor ; William F. Taylor ;
[Born March 26, 1883 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada – died October 14, 1970 in Lumberville, Bucks, PA]

SAL record control number: 69659 ;

Record level: Person ;

Record type: Artist ;

Biography:

Birth: March 26, 1883 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada ;
Death: October 14, 1970 in Lumberville, Bucks, PA ;
Sex: Male ;
Ethnicity: White ; 
Zodiac: Aries ;

Known for: Impressionist landscape ; PA landscapes ;
Medium: Oil ;
Technique: Painting ;
Subjects: Landscapes ; hills ; farms ; fields ;

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Member: Non-resident artist member, 1917-1970;
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William Francis Taylor was a landscape painter and member of the New Hope School of Pennsylvania Impressionists. He was born on March 28, 1883 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Taylor studied art in New York City at the Art Students League from 1905 to 1907, where John Sloan was one of his teachers. In 1908, he began working as the advertising editor for the New York Journal. He became a US citizen in 1913 and married artist Mary Smyth Perkins.

In the early 1920s, Taylor and his wife began visiting Bucks County, Pennsylvania and eventually moved to Lumberville in 1925 due to their friendship with William Lathrop, the first resident painter of the group that later became known as the Pennsylvania Impressionists. William Francis Taylor is associated with the “late” Pennsylvania Impressionist School, referring to the Bucks County artists who gained prominence after 1915. This group was associated with the conservative wing headed by Pennsylvania Academy teacher Daniel Garber, who were not influenced by the avant-garde movements that emerged after the 1912 Armory Show in New York City. Among this later group, Taylor was one of the younger members.

In October 1928, Taylor led the Subscription Committee to purchase Phillips Mill in New Hope to be used as an exhibition space for the New Hope Colony of Impressionist painters. This move was motivated in part by the difficulty that the younger painters, including Taylor, were experiencing in getting their work shown at the Pennsylvania Academy exhibitions. The first exhibition at Phillips Mill was held on May 25, 1929 and included paintings by Taylor. In addition to being an exhibition space, Phillips Mill also became a community center for the Bucks County painters to socialize and organize. The Phillips Mill Community Association, a membership support group, was formed and eventually led to the establishment of the James A. Michener Art Museum, a fine arts museum with branches in New Hope and Doylestown.

William Francis Taylor was also the editor of Towpath, a local magazine that sometimes featured articles on the New Hope painters. One of Taylor’s articles was on Edward Redfield. Towpath was published monthly from 1939 to 1941 and covered environmental control issues, a subject of great interest to Taylor, who wrote widely read editorials on the topic. However, the publication of Towpath ended with the onset of World War II.

Taylor had numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout his career, including shows at the Province of Ontario, Canada (1902), National Academy of Design in New York (1916), Art Club of Philadelphia (1924), Salmagundi Club in New York (1924, 1927, 1932), and the Bucks County Courthouse (1935-1937). He was also a member and second president of the Phillips’ Mill Community Association, and a founder and the first president of the Delaware Valley Protective Association.

During the 1930s, the popularity of the Pennsylvania Impressionists declined. Today, according to Thomas Folk, a scholar of the Pennsylvania Impressionists, William Francis Taylor is better remembered for his organizational and writing skills rather than his painting. In 1963, Taylor published a history of Phillips Mill.

William Francis Taylor died on October 14, 1970 in Lumberville, Bucks, PA.