Michael Taylor was born in Sussex and studied at the Worthing School of Art (1969-70) and Goldsmiths School of Art (1970-73). He moved to Haworth, Yorkshire, in 1975 and later to Dorset in 1978. From 1974-90 he exhibited at a variety of galleries including the Royal Academy, Florence Art Gallery, Royal West of England Academy, F.B.A, Hunting Group, Mall Galleries, and Morley Gallery. He has received many awards for his paintings including the National Portrait Gallery John Player Award (1983), the Holburne Contemporary Portrait Prize and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Changing Faces Award (2002).
Taylor has cited Stanley Spencer, El Greco, Vermeer, Gwen John, Otto Dix, Lucien Freud, Edward Burra, Carel Fabritius and Velasquez as his primary early influences, as well as Salvador Dali, Paul Nash, Max Ernst and Dorothea Tanning. He always works directly from life, “starting with one eye and working outwards”, relying on “asymmetric rhythms and distortions” to create his portraits. Regarding paintings of objects, Taylor comments that he “likes to paint the absence of things as much as the things themselves”. This may be why he is often seen to play with space in his work, as well as transparency and abscesses.
He has undertaken a number of important portrait commissions including from the House of Lords to paint the portrait of the last Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, as well as from Christchurch Hall Oxford, Robinson College Cambridge, Southampton University and Church House Oxford. More recently, he was commissioned by the Hollywood director Wes Anderson to paint a ‘renaissance’ portrait of Boy with Apple for his film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. The authorship of the painting was kept a closely guarded secret until the film release and has since generated a great deal of press interest in Taylor.
Four of his works are in the National Portrait Gallery: portraits of musician Julian Bream, the composer Sir John Tavener, writer P.D. James and a self-portrait in pencil. He has been represented by Waterhouse & Dodd for over ten years, holding two full solo exhibitions and exhibiting at numerous international art fairs.