James Taylor – Fougasse the man who created 'CARELESS TALK COSTS LIVES' (Anova 2010) studied at the Universities of St Andrews and Manchester. Formerly Head of Victorian Paintings at Phillips Fine Art Auctioneers, he was for ten years curator of paintings, drawings and prints, and exhibition organiser at the National Maritime Museum. From 1999 he has been a freelance art consultant, exhibition organiser and author. His publications include Marine Painting (Studio Editions, 1995), Yachts on Canvas (Conway, 1998), and most recently The Voyage of the Beagle (Conway and Naval Institute Press, 2008).

He was awarded the Sir James Caird award at the National Maritime Museum for writing in 1998 and in the same year a fellowship from the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, USA to study 18th and 19th century British marine painting.

A lecturer for the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies [NADFAS] on maritime art, he has lectured to a wide range of audiences worldwide including: Christie’s Fine Art Auctioneers, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Sydney Decorative and Fine Arts Society, the National Trust, the English Speaking Union, U3A and the Womens’ Institute, various literary festivals and schools.