Ernest Mervyn (E. Mervyn) Taylor New Zealand, 1906-64
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About Ernest Mervyn (E. Mervyn) Taylor
Born in 1906 in Auckland, Mervyn Taylor was a wood engraver, painter, illustrator, sculptor and designer. He studied at Elam School of Fine Art and Wellington Technical College. He worked as a commercial artist until 1939 when he resigned to pursue his artistic career. He is believed to be the first New Zealand artist to hold a solo exhibition in New York, when his prints were exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History in 1954. He is well known for his watercolours and wood engravings of New Zealand landscapes, flora and fauna.
E. Mervyn Taylor is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1980 of 613, of which 484 (79%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $87,841 for Mural for the Wairoa Centennial Library, Hawke's Bay sold by Art+Object in November 2023. This year 10 works have been offered for sale. Works by E. Mervyn Taylor are held by the Museum Of New Zealand, Auckland Art Gallery and a further three major public national galleries (see list below).
Ernest Mervyn (E. Mervyn) Taylor is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- Gil Docking, with additions by Michael Gunn covering 1970-90. Two Hundred Years of New Zealand Painting, David Bateman Ltd., New Zealand, 1990 Page 134
- McGahey, Kate. The Concise Dictionary of New Zealand Artists Painters Printmakers Sculptors, Gilt Edge Publishing, Wellington, New Zealand, 2000. Page 241
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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