An N.Z. artist

Press, 15 July 1978, Page 13

An N.Z. artist

In the second programme from the “Six Artists of New Zealand” series tomorrow night on SPTV, Bill Saunders examines the work of Mervyn Taylor.

Born in Auckland on August 4, 1906, Taylor grew up there and attended the Elam School of Art. From 1922 to 1926 he served an apprenticeship in jewellery engraving, and then turned his hand to wood carving. During the Depression he had to seek other work and found employment as a display artist. In 1939 he decided to risk becoming a freelance artist but this was interrupted in 1942 when he was called for military service. He was, from 1944, with the school publication branch of the Department of Education as illustrator and art editor of the “School Journal.” He returned to working on a freelance basis in his own studio in 1946, and concentrated on his wood engravings and water colours. IrT 1958 Taylor received an invitation from the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Culture to'hold a one-man exhibition in Moscow — a display which was also

shown in several other major Russian cities.

States of America under the auspices of the State Department and while overseas, also with official assistance, visited Prague and London. Mervyn Taylor became interested in wood sculpture in the late 1950 s but was still developing this art form when he died suddenly on June 7. 1964. aged