Selwyn Muru (some people will know him by his other name, Fred), caused much interest with his first exhibition last year. Selwyn Muru's Paintings Win Wide Acclaim by Rosemary Vincent ‘The best thing that has happened to art in Auckland this year,’ is how a newspaper critic described the emergence of the young Maori painter Selwyn Muru, who made his artistic debut in autumn 1963. At the annual Autumn Exhibition held by the Auckland Society of Arts, Muru created a great deal of interest with six paintings ranging from an impressionistic landscape to a painting which gave to a traditional Maori motif the jewelled richness of colour which one associates with medieval stained glass. The traditions adopted by this society since its establishment in 1870 had undergone a sudden and surprising change at this 1963 exhibition, thanks to the forward-looking policy of the committee headed by Professor Paul Beadle. Usually, dozens of members' paintings are hung, filling both galleries and overflowing up the stairs; but this time only sixteen paintings were chosen to be hung. Six of these paintings—the maximum number accepted from any one painter—were by Selwyn Muru. In his opening address, Dr John Reid praised the young painter's work and asked where he had been hiding his talent for so long, that the public had never heard of him.

From Te Hapua in the Far North But in Muru's home town, Te Hapua, in Auckland where he now lives, and in places where he has stayed as a school-teacher—Ruatahuna, Matakana Island, Urewera, Papatoetoe—most of his friends and acquaintances already knew of his talent and were not surprised by news of his success. Many of them had his paintings in their homes, given in return for the hospitality and friendship he found in the north. Selwyn Muru was born in Te Hapua, the third son of Mr and Mrs Henry Muru. He has three brothers and five sisters; the family is extremely musical and the son inherited both musical and artistic talents from both his Colour plays such an important part in his work that photographs can give only a suggestion of its nature. This vibrant owl was one of the most popular paintings at his first exhibition.