Leonard Campbell-Taylor was born in Oxford where he attended the Ruskin School before moving on to the St Johns Wood School of Art in London, followed by the Royal Academy School. A painter of subject pictures and interiors, alongside portraits of wealthy patrons such as the Courtaulds, he exhibited primarily in London and Paris. He also served as an official war artist with the infantry and Royal Navy during the First World War.

Working in a careful and traditional manner, Campbell-Taylor ignored modern influences. His war art is of particular note for its painstaking accuracy.