Ernest Mervyn Taylor

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 DimensionsH x W mm Artist Date Current Location Heritage listed WellingtonNew Zealand Meat Board Directors' Room, Massey House, 126–132 Lambton Quay Plischke & Firth Carved totara panel E. Mervyn Taylor c. 1957 Unknown OtakiWar Memorial Hall, 69 Main St Sandblasted glass windows 2610 x 2440 E. Mervyn Taylor 1957 In situ WellingtonKhandallah Presbyterian Church, 27 Ganges Rd, Khandallah The Ascension Sandblasted glass windows E. Mervyn Taylor 1959 In situ MastertonPost Office, 122 Queen St Early Settlers Ceramic tiles 4400 x 4400 E. Mervyn Taylor 1960 Hidden behind a wall Masterton District Council New PlymouthWar Memorial Hall, Museum & Library, 1 Ariki St Edgar Collins Sandblasted glass window 1800 x 3300 E. Mervyn Taylor 1960 In situ.Site now Puke Ariki New PlymouthPost Office, Cnr Gill and Currie Sts Edgar Collins Sandblasted glass atrium ceiling Estimated to8000 x 8000 E. Mervyn Taylor c. 1960 In situ. Partially covered and difficult to view.Site now occupied by ANZ Banking Group MastertonWar Memorial Stadium Hall of Memories, 2 Dixon St, North Masterton Lest We Forget Ceramic tiles 1995 x 3685 E. Mervyn Taylor 1960–61/1966 In situ Wairoa Centennial Library, 212 Marine Parade Porter & Martin (A.A.) Painted wall partition, using Resene PVA matt latex paint 3500 x 3160 E. Mervyn Taylor c. 1961 Unknown Hutt ValleyFoyer of Soil Bureau, 182 Eastern Hutt Rd, Taita Porter & Martin (A.A.) First Kumera Planting Painting directly on concrete wall, using Resene PVA matt latex paint 1850 x 2750 E. Mervyn Taylor 1962 Unknown.Site now occupied by The Learning Connexion art school WellingtonFoyer (assumed) of National Mutual Life Assurance Building, 153 Featherston St Gray Young, Morton & Calder Painting directly on wall Approx.2140 x 7315 E. Mervyn Taylor 1963 Unknown.Site now occupied by the Ibis Hotel AucklandCOMPAC building, 1 Akoranga Drive, Northcote Te Ika-a-Māui Ceramic tiles Approx.2625 x 3430 E. Mervyn Taylor 1962 Auckland.Takapuna Library. Property of Spark NZ WellingtonFoyer of Broadcasting House Supervising architect: Gordon Wilson (Government Architect) Time and Space Carved kauri panel, from one plank 800 x 1850 E. Mervyn Taylor 1963 RNZ boardroom, Radio New Zealand House, 155 The Terrace WellingtonCable Price Downer House, 108 (106–110) The Terrace Orchiston, Power & Associates Industry Ceramic tiles Approx.3005 x 3005 E. Mervyn Taylor 1964 Unknown.Site now Berl House

Notes on individual murals First Kumera Planting, Taita Soil Bureau One of his commissions was a mural at the Taitā headquarters of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Soil Bureau, depicting a cloaked Māori figure using a kō (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 Norman Taylor (Director of the Soil Bureau), and subsequently painting it.

Te Ika-a-Māui, COMPAC Building The mural was commissioned by the New Zealand Government to mark the 1962 completion of the Tasman leg of the Commonwealth Pacific Cable System (COMPAC)—an underwater telephone cable system connecting 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.

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