As a young boy Hoyland bypassed a grammar school education to attend Sheffield School of Arts & Crafts (1946-51). He then studied art at Sheffield College of Art (1951-56) and was introduced to American abstract painting through the exhibition Modern Art in the United States at the Tate, London (1956), taking particular note of Rothko and Pollock. At the Royal Academy Schools (1956-60), Hoyland befriended among others Patrick Caulfield, who became a close friend. To learn beyond the strictures of the RA, in 1957 Hoyland attended an annual Summer School at Scarborough and in 1958 joined William Turnbull's evening classes at the Central School of Art, London. In these years Hoyland also travelled to France and Italy, and was affected by the quality of light. He was later to travel extensively. The 1960s saw Hoyland teach at Hornsey, Luton, Croydon and Chelsea schools of art. In 1963 he met Helen Frankenthaler, was deeply impressed by Anthony Caro's exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery, and in 1969 represented Britain alongside Caro at the São Paolo Biennial. In 1964 he was selected for the Whitechapel's New Generation exhibition and travelled to New York for the first time, visiting artists such as Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko. In the 1970s and 80s he worked in both New York and Los Angeles. In 1999 Hoyland had a retrosepctive at the RA and was appointed a Professor of Painting at the Schools.