Restaurant Car

Painting, oil on canvas, Restaurant Car, by Leonard Campbell Taylor (1874 - 1969), about 1935. Depicts the interior of a restaurant car. A well dressed young couple are seated opposite each other, next to a window, with a view of red-tiled houses, the coast and sea beyond. The woman is smoking a cigarette. Behind them is a waiter carrying a tray of coffee cups, while a middle-aged man at a table on the other side of the aisle reads an illustrated magazine. Signed by the artist at bottom left. Original artwork for a London, Midland and Scottish Railway poster. Framed and glazed.

Leonard Campbell Taylor is perhaps best known for his portraits of wealthy clients, but was persuaded to create a small number of posters for the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in the inter-war years.

A member of the Royal Academy, Taylor specialised in traditional, tranquil, timeless interiors in a realist style, a style well suited to this portrayal of a relaxed and sophisticated first-class restaurant car.

Seen through the window is an equally tranquil coastal landscape, presumably in Scotland.