Taylor S. Abernathy was born in Missouri to Harry Thomas Abernathy. The Abernathy family owned Abernathy Furniture Company in Kansas City. Taylor graduated from Hamilton College in 1914 and returned to Missouri to work for the First National Bank of Kansas City. He was eventually named President of the bank. In this portrait by Adrain Lamb, Abernathy is dressed in a dark navy or black suit with a white shirt and matching pocket square. His tie bespeckled with red dots is the same color as his suit. The background of this portrait is rich in russet tones of red and yellow.

Taylor died in 1987 at the age of 95. The following year, the Taylor S. Abernathy & Patti Harding Abernathy Charitable Trust was established to support religious, charitable, scientific, and educational purposes, with the first scholarship grant made to Hamilton College in 1988.