William S Taylor:
Soldier's kit, 1940
Framed (ref: 9499)

Oil on board

Tags: William S Taylor oil panel still lifes

Provenance: The Artist's Studio

Literature: W S Taylor, John Basford, Derwent-Wye, 2012, page 16

This still life dates to the period when the Royal College of Art evacuated from South Kensington in the Autumn of 1940, taking over two hotels in Ambleside, the Queens and the Salutation, for studios and accommodation.During this period Taylor set up his studio at  Gale Cottage, in Old Lake Road in Ambleside: 'I stayed there for my post-graduate year, . Candles and oil lamps were the source of artificial light; a small stove with a pipe through the roof was for heating; a tin wash basin for washing and a stove for cooking completed the facilities .. Having been rejected on medical grounds by the armed forces, these years were for me, in spite of the slaughter going on in the real world, the halcyon days: my time was my own, with few responsibilities and only my painting to concern me'. Letter to Paul Liss, 7 November 2001.