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Son of a marine engineer and grandson of the artist William McTaggart RSA (1835-1910) He trained at Edinburgh College of Art part time from 1918 until 1921 where fellow students included Gillies and Crozier who became life long friends. MacTaggart then proceeded in the Nineteen Twenties to travel in Italy and France. He proceeded to share a studio with Crozier and then Gillies in Edinburgh and in 1927 he became a Member of the Society of Eight. His work is characterised by a rich palette and energetic expressionist brushwork. He taught at ECA from 1933 and exhibited at the RSA Annual Exhibitions from 1921 until 1978. MacTaggart became an Associate Member of the RSA in 1937 and an Academician in 1948 and was President of the RSA from 1959 until 1969. He was knighted in 1962 and became a Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur in 1968.