George Thomas Taylor (September 6, 1838 – April 5, 1913) was a Canadian photographer and painter whose work depicts the landscapes and everyday life of nineteenth-century New Brunswick. He is regarded as a pioneering nature photographer in Canada.
Taylor was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick. He developed an interest in photography and in 1856, he began his career, during which he documented and photographed provincial locations, including the Tobique Valley. In the early 20th century, when photography was becoming more accessible, Taylor retired and took up landscape painting, which he continued until his death in 1913. Taylor often used his own photographs as references. , hundreds of Taylor's images are preserved and have been exhibited at the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
Early life and career
George Thomas Taylor was born on September 6, 1838, in Fredericton, a British garrison town in the Colony of New Brunswick. His father William P. Taylor had migrated from London, England, and worked as a carpenter. George Taylor's mother was Frances (Morrison) Taylor; George was the middle child of five siblings, and the family lived in a house William built in 1846. George developed an interest in photography through borrowing magazines from soldiers at the local garrison, which led him to pursue a self-study of photography, particularly its scientific concepts.. During his teenage years, Taylor started creating daguerreotypes, and while working as a carpenter in the 1850s and 1860s, he continued to develop his photographic skills. He was also a self-taught painter, although the wife of a captain of the 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment gave him lessons.
In 1856, Taylor, guided by a local portrait photographer, began working as a photographer. The same year, he built his first camera and began producing daguerreotypes. Taylor borrowed and read English periodicals from Garrison officers to deepen his understanding of photography. With the help of his father, Taylor had built a basic camera by 1860, at the age of 22, while accruing knowledge of the collodion process. He later established his first studio at the intersection between Queen and Carleton Streets, Fredericton.
In 1860, Taylor was married to his first wife Sarah George, who died in 1866. In 1868, he married Mary Avery and had six children with her. They remained married until Avery's death on February 14, 1905, at the age of 66.
Photographic career
Taylor expanded his photographic work beyond his studio in Fredericton. In the early 1860's, he developed a friendship with Arthur Hamilton Gordon, the last Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick before the colony's Confederation. In 1863, Gordon commissioned Taylor to document various provincial locations, and with a reference letter from the governor, Taylor embarked on an expedition to the Tobique River, becoming one of the first photographers to explore it. During this period, officers from imperial regiments stationed in Fredericton, who were impressed by his photography skills, also commissioned Taylor. When the forces relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Taylor was encouraged to join them.
During his expeditions, Taylor formed friendships with Maliseet peoples, including a notable individual known as Gave Acquin, with whom he frequently collaborated while exploring the province. According to an exhibit chairwoman, Taylor could fluently speak the Maliseet language. He traversed the forests and river valleys of New Brunswick by canoe, and was aided by First Nations guides who referred to him as "Garge". While on his expeditions, Taylor used a portable darkroom to process photographs, and took with him all of his equipment, including this portable darkroom, camera, chemicals and negatives. Taylor revisited the Tobique River in the following decades.
Taylor, who continued to live in Fredericton after 1896, earned an income from making studio portraits of notable individuals, though his main interest was landscape and scenery photography. His collection mostly consisted of images of New Brunswick, including rivers, towns, mills, lumber camps, hunters, fishermen, and indigenous guides.
In 1868, examples of Taylor's work were featured in the inaugural edition of Canadian Illustrated News, a national news magazine. Government and local businesses often commissioned Taylor to photograph unexplored regions of New Brunswick. For example, the New Brunswick Railway Company commissioned him to photograph sites along the route to Edmunston before tracks were laid west of Fredericton. During his career, Taylor expanded his house to add a portrait studio.