E. Murray Fuller New Zealand, 1892-1933

Edwin Murray Fuller was born at Wellington, New Zealand, on 14th January 1892. The oldest of three boys born to his parents William Edwin Fuller and Margaret Fanny Fuller (nee Dixon), E. Murray Fuller was educated at Mount Cook School and the Wellington Technical School of Art. His first exposure to the Art circles of Wellington came in 1908 with an entry in the local competitions, and was repeated every year until 1914 when he enlisted for foreign service with the New Zealand Armed Forces. He served in France and rose to the rank of Sergeant. Prior to his enlisting, E. Murray Fuller married Mary Fuller (nee Hamilton) in Wellington on 19th March 1913. Mary Fuller was also an artist of some repute, and following his return from WWI in early 1919, the Fullers became key figures in the artistic life of Wellington for close to three decades. E. Murray Fuller established one of the first galleries in New Zealand dealing with local art. In addition, he and his wife brought 6 exhibitions of ‘contemporary’ British art to New Zealand, as well as staging exhibitions of the works of New Zealand artists in various parts of the British Empire. The Fullers travelled extensively in their desire to promote art worldwide, and in 1931 spent time on the island of Zanzibar off the East Coast of Africa in what is now Tanzania. During this period, E. Murray Fuller painted three works which are now at the New Zealand National Art Gallery at Te Papa, Wellington. These are “Malindi Market”, “Careening Dow” and “Sultan’s Palace”. They also travelled extensively through Europe and the United Kingdom, staging exhibitions of New Zealand art works in London, Manchester and Liverpool. E. Murray Fuller died in Melbourne, Australia, on 25th February 1933 after a short illness, and was buried at the Karori Cemetery in Wellington. Mary Fuller continued to be heavily involved in Wellington art circles until her relocation to England in 1945, and she frequently returned to New Zealand for Academy of Fine Arts Council business. She passed away in England in 1973. Their son, Hamilton Murray Fuller (1913-2002) was not involved in the art scene. He lived the bulk of his life in Australia and served with the RAAF in Europe and the Middle East during WWII, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1943 for his service. He and his wife, Jess, were childless. It was said, at the time of his death, that the contributions of E. Murray Fuller and Mary Fuller to the promotion of contemporary art across the British Empire and especially the promotion of the works of artists from New Zealand were unmatched by any other individual or organisation of the time. Biography supplied by Bill Fuller, nephew of Edwin Murray Fuller.

In our database, 6 works by E. Murray Fuller are listed as being offered for sale, the earliest in 2000, of which 5 (83%) were sold. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2009.