Françoise
Belgian-British Artist, 1920—2007
FRANÇOISE TAYLOR was an unusually gifted artist. Born in Bressoux, Liège in Belgium on January 1st 1920 (née Wauters) she moved to Brussels in 1924 where she lived until 1946 when she married an Englishman then emigrated to England. Her art spans over fifty years from Belgium during the war years of the 1940s up to the 1990s in Northern England — hundreds of engravings, etchings, woodcuts, drawings and paintings, some still unseen, others in public collections in England, Belgium and France.
Timeline | About Françoise’s drawings | Gallery
Françoise began her artistic life at the Académie Royale in Brussels, winning the First Prize for Drawing three years in succession. She went on to study art for a further six years at La Cambre (l’École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture et d’Arts Decoratifs) specialising in engraving, book illustration and typography, winning a Diploma with Highest Distinction and a Mastery in Book Illustration – the first in Belgium – “avec la plus grande distinction et les félicitations du Jury”.
She continued drawing and painting throughout her active years as well as inspiring younger generations as Head of Art at a girls’ school in what became her home town: Bolton near Manchester. From the 1950s to the 1980s her work was exhibited in the north west of England. Françoise died in January 2007.
Drawing by Françoise Taylor, mid-1940s
Wife and Mother
Françoise married Kenneth Taylor in Brussels in October 1946. During the war he served as an officer in the 6th Battalion of Green Howards then was attached to the Belgian army as a liaison officer. She moved with him to England shortly afterwards. They had five children, now adults — Patrick, Anthony, Martin, Michèle and Annik.
Anthony, Martin and Patrick at Harlyn Bay, 1954
Plein air drawing by Françoise Taylor
This website was created and is maintained by Patrick Taylor on behalf of the Estate of Françoise Taylor and the Estate of Kenneth Taylor.