Mervyn Taylor (artist)

Museum of New Zealand exhibition poster (1990) featuring artist E Mervyn Taylor

Ernest Mervyn Taylor (1906–1964) was a notable New Zealand engraver, commercial artist and publisher. He was born in Auckland, New Zealand in 1906 but primarily lived and worked in Wellington, New Zealand until his sudden death at the age of 58.

Murals

Taylor completed a number of murals towards the end of his career. Information is varied on the current status of these works: some are known to be intact, some have been boarded over, some are in need of restoration work, and the fate of others is simply unknown. Between 2015 and 2018, these works were the subject of the E. Mervyn Taylor Mural Search and Recovery Project at the College of Creative Arts, Massey University. The project lead to a book Wanted: The Search for the Modernist Murals of E. Mervyn Taylor.

List of murals

Original Location	Architects	Mural title	Medium	Dimensions	Image	Artist	Date	Current Location	Notes	Heritage listed
Wellington New Zealand Meat Board Directors' Room, Massey House, 126–132 Lambton Quay	Plischke & Firth		Carved totara panel			E. Mervyn Taylor	c. 1957	Unknown
Otaki War Memorial Hall, 69 Main St			Sandblasted glass windows			E. Mervyn Taylor	1957	In situ
Wellington Khandallah Presbyterian Church, 27 Ganges Rd, Khandallah		The Ascension	Sandblasted glass windows			E. Mervyn Taylor	1959	In situ
Masterton Post Office, 122 Queen St		Early Settlers	Ceramic tiles	4400 x 4400 mm		E. Mervyn Taylor	1960	Hidden behind a wall		Masterton District Council
New Plymouth War Memorial Hall, Museum & Library, 1 Ariki St	Edgar Collins		Sandblasted glass window			E. Mervyn Taylor	1960	In situ (site now known as Puke Ariki)
New Plymouth Post Office, Cnr Gill and Currie Sts	Edgar Collins		Sandblasted glass atrium ceiling	Estimated at up to 8000 x 8000 mm		E. Mervyn Taylor	c. 1960	In situ, but partially covered and difficult to view (site now occupied by ANZ Banking Group)
Masterton War Memorial Stadium Hall of Memories, 2 Dixon St, North Masterton		Lest We Forget	Ceramic tiles			E. Mervyn Taylor	1960-61/1966	In situ
Wairoa Centennial Library, 212 Marine Parade	Porter & Martin (A.A.)		Painted wall partition, using a PVA matt latex paint from Resene			E. Mervyn Taylor	c. 1961	Unknown
Hutt Valley Entrance foyer, Soil Bureau, 182 Eastern Hutt Rd, Taita	Porter & Martin (A.A.)	First Kumera Planting	Painting directly on concrete wall, using a PVA matt latex paint from Resene			E. Mervyn Taylor	1962	Unknown. Site now occupied by The Learning Connexion art institution.
Wellington Entrance foyer (assumed), National Mutual Life Assurance Building, 153 Featherston St	Gray, Young, Morton & Calder		Painting directly on wall			E. Mervyn Taylor	1963	Unknown. Site now occupied by the Ibis Hotel.
Auckland COMPAC building, 1 Akoranga Drive, Northcote		Te Ika-a-Māui	Ceramic tiles	Approx. 2625mm (height) x 3430mm (width)		E. Mervyn Taylor	1962	Removed from original location, undergoing restoration. Property of Spark NZ.
Wellington Entrance foyer of Broadcasting House	Supervising architect: Gordon Wilson (Government Architect)	Time and Space	Wooden carved panel, carved from one plank of kauri	1850 x 800 mm		E. Mervyn Taylor	1963	Radio NZ boardroom, Radio New Zealand House, 155 The Terrace
Wellington Cable Price Downer House, 108 The Terrace (also referred to as 106–110)	Orchiston, Power & Associates	Industry	Ceramic tiles			E. Mervyn Taylor	1964	Unknown	Site now Berl House.

Expanded information on individual murals

Taita Soil Bureau, "First Kumara Planting"

One of his commissions was a mural at the Taitā headquarters of the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR)’s Soil Bureau depicting a cloaked figure using a kō (Māori digging stick). In the short film "Pictorial Parade No. 128", produced in 1962 by the National Film Unit, Taylor can be seen discussing the mural with Mr. Norman Taylor (Director of the Soil Bureau), and subsequently painting it.

COMPAC Building, "Te Ika-a-Māui"

The mural was commissioned by the New Zealand Government to mark the 1962 completion of the Tasman leg of the Commonwealth Pacific Cable (COMPAC) – a huge underwater telephone cable system that connected New Zealand to its Commonwealth allies in the aftermath of World War Two. The mural was originally housed in the COMPAC landing station in Auckland. In 2014 this mural was discovered by artist Bronwyn Holloway-Smith. The work was brought to public attention once again through her project Te Ika-a-Akoranga.

Other sources

• Bound to be noticed; Dominion Post, 24 November 2007; sup.p. 20.
• Warne, Kennedy (September–October 2007). "Mervyn Taylor: The Renaissance Man of Karori". New Zealand Geographic. No. 87. pp. 98–108.
• Prints charming : after years of marginalisation, artist E Mervyn Taylor is finally getting his due; Listener, 16 September 2006; v.205 n.3462:p. 40
• "Wood Engravings by Mervyn Taylor". Design Review. Vol. 4, no. 3. Wellington: Architectural Centre Inc. June–July 1952. pp. 64–65.
• E Mervyn Taylor; Here and Now, Jan/Feb 1951; n.5:p. 38,42
• E Mervyn Taylor; Arts Year Book, 1947; n.3:p. 116-119,147