Martin Clayton


Martin Clayton, LVO, FSA, is Head of Prints and Drawings for Royal Collection Trust at Windsor Castle. He is a specialist in the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci.

Early life

Martin Clayton was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire on 30 December 1967 to David and Brenda Clayton. He was educated at King James's School, Knaresborough, and from 1986 to 1990 at Christ's College, University of Cambridge, where he studied Natural Sciences and History of Art, graduating with a first. He credits his interest in art to a school trip to the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg where he was fascinated by the chisel marks on a sculpture there.

Career

After graduating, Clayton began to work in the Print Room of the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, as Assistant Curator, subsequently becoming Deputy Curator, Senior Curator, and Head of Prints and Drawings. He has curated many exhibitions in the UK and internationally based on material in the royal collection and written the corresponding catalogues. He is a specialist in the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci.
Clayton is the editor of the natural history volumes of the catalogue raisonné of the Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo, the major part of which is held in the Royal Library at Windsor. He also co-wrote the volume on Cassiano's Aztec Herbal with Luigi Guerrini and Alejandro de Ávila.

Honours

Clayton was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order in the 2015 New Year's honours list.

Selected publications

  • Leonardo da Vinci: The Anatomy of Man. Bulfinch Press, 1992
  • Poussin: Works on Paper. Drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle. Merrell Holberton, London, 1995.
  • Leonardo da Vinci: A Curious Vision. Drawings from the Royal Library, Windsor Castle. Merrell Holberton, London, 1996.
  • Raphael and his circle: Drawings from Windsor Castle. Royal Collection, 1999.
  • Leonardo da Vinci: The Divine and the Grotesque. Royal Collection, 2002.
  • Holbein to Hockney: Drawings from the Royal Collection. Royal Collection, 2004.
  • Canaletto in Venice. Royal Collection, 2005.
  • The Art of Italy in the Royal Collection: Renaissance and Baroque. Royal Collection, 2007.
  • The Paper Museum of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Flora: The Aztec Herbal. 2009.
  • Leonardo da Vinci. The Mechanics of Man. Royal Collection Trust, 2010
  • Leonardo da Vinci. Anatomist. Royal Collection Trust, 2012
  • Castiglione: Lost Genius. Royal Collection Trust, 2013.