Toynbee was part of a family multi-disciplined in the arts. He was the youngest son of Arnold Toynbee, historian and social philosopher; grandson of Gilbert Murray, classical scholar and poet; and great-grandson of George James Howard, Earl of Carlisle, the landscape painter. He is also the father of Polly Toynbee, journalist with the Guardian newspaper. Toynbee studied art at the Ruskin School of Drawing in Oxford and went on to teach art is a variety of colleges. As well as his paintings of the rail and underground stations, he is known for his depiction of sports and his ability to convey movement on the canvas.
Lawrence Leifchild Toynbee (1922-2002), Cricket Match, 1967
Signed and dated
Panel, 10 ¾ x 30 ¼ in (27.5 x 77 cm)
Lawrence Toynbee is particularly associated with sporting subjects especially cricket.
He was a keen cricketer himself and played at Lords for Oxford University against The Army. He was a member of The MCC and there is a collection of his work on permanent display in The Lord’s Pavilion. At this date Toynbee was represented by The Leicester Gallery and in Autumn 1967 held an exhibition at the gallery entitled Cricketers and other Recent Paintings (Catalogue not traced).