Anna Heyward Taylor papers

Collection

Identifier: SCL-MS-MS-15386

Staff Only

Anna Heyward Taylor, well-known for her watercolors and wood-block prints, received professional art training from William Merritt Chase in New York and B.J.O. Norfeldt in New England. She studied the works of classical printmakers in Japan and developed an appreciation for textile art.

She traveled extensively, including trips to Asia, Europe, British Guiana, the Virgin Islands, and Mexico. During her travels, she wrote letters home that detailed her experiences and observations of the people and cultures she encountered. These letters comprise the bulk of the papers. The collection also includes photographs, three linoleum block tiles, brochures, and catalogs.

Dates

1886 - 1992

Creator

Taylor, Anna Heyward, 1879-1956 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

All rights reside with creator. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact The South Caroliniana Library.

Extent

6.25 Linear Feet (5 cartons 1 oversize folder 3 linoleum block printing tiles)

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

Artist of Charleston (S.C.), Anna Heyward Taylor (1879-1956) enjoyed renown for her watercolors and wood-block prints and is remembered as one of the significant figures of the Charleston Renaissance of the 1920s-1940s. A native Columbia (S.C.), Taylor received professional art training from William Merritt Chase in New York and B.J.O. Nordfeldt in New England, and throughout her life, took inspiration from her extensive travels in the Americas and Asia. While in Japan, Taylor studied the works of classical woodblock printmakers and developed an appreciation for textile art. Taylor studied painting in Europe and also produced art during time spent in Mexico and South America, the Caribbean islands, and Latin America. In 1929, Taylor settled permanently in Charleston, where she continued to produce the watercolors and wood and linoleum block prints for which she is chiefly remembered by art historians and collectors.