Prentiss taylor artist painter

American illustrator, lithographer and painter (1907-1991)

Prentiss Taylor (December 13, 1907 – October 7, 1991) was an American illustrator, lithographer, and painter.

Prentiss taylor artist painter palms

Born in Washington D.C., Taylor began his art studies at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, followed by painting classes under Charles Hawthorne in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and training at the Art Students League in New York City. In 1931, Taylor began studying lithography at the League.

He became a member of one of the most important printmaking societies in America at that time, the Society of American Graphic Artists. Taylor interacted and collaborated with many writers and musicians in his time in New York in the late 1920s and early 30s.

Prentiss taylor artist painter

This was in the emergence of the Harlem Renaissance. Among his close friends and colleagues were Langston Hughes and Carl Van Vechten.

Taylor's work is in the collection of numerous institutions such as: the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Amer