Tayler, Albert Chevallier

Signing his works ‘A. Chevallier Tayler’, the artist’s first name has mistakenly been recorded as Alexander in some publications. Although he was a superb painter and exhibited at the Royal Academy regularly, he was never elected to either associate or full Membership.

Biography

Albert Chevallier Tayler – 1862 – 1925

Born in London, Chevallier Tayler won a scholarship to study at the Slade in 1879. Like most of the Newlyn artists, he also trained in France, attending Laurens’ atelier in Paris. He arrived in Newlyn in September 1884, the same year that Stanhope Forbes joined the growing colony of artists.

Tayler’s initial visit lasted only a few weeks and throughout his time as a Newlyner he continued to visit other parts of England for months at a time. In 1895, he finally left the village for good, Norman Garstin commenting that he had ‘folded his sketching umbrella and silently stolen up to Kensington.’ He never seemed to have much luck selling his work and was sometimes forced to accept offers that were offensively low.

Tayler was a particular exponent of the ‘square brush technique’ adopted by many of the Newlyn artists in emulation of French painters, particularly Jules Bastien-Lepage. The technique involves painting with a flat paintbrush, laying the paint on the canvas straight from the palette using the square edge of the brush. The softened edges achieved with this technique give a feel of atmosphere and light.