E. Mervyn Taylor
Aotearoa New Zealand, b.1906, d.1964
Ruru (Morepork)
- 1943
- Wood engraving
- Purchased 2022
- 126 x 106mm
- 2022/069
Location: Sir Robertson and Lady Stewart Gallery
Tags: birds (animals), monochrome
At dusk, and throughout the night, the quiet of the kahere is often pierced by the melancholic two-note call of the ruru. Also known as the morepork, this small, speckled owl can be found in forests throughout the mainland and offshore islands of Aotearoa New Zealand. With bright yellow eyes blazing from a dark mask, it is known in te ao Māori as a watchful guardian. In this exquisitely detailed woodcut by Mervyn Taylor, one of Aotearoa’s most highly regarded twentieth-century printmakers, the ruru meets our gaze from a high perch amongst tangled branches, the moonlight glinting across each feather of its speckled chest.
kahere ~ forest
te ao Māori ~ the Māori world
(He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil, 2025)
Exhibition History
Ink on Paper: Aotearoa New Zealand Printmakers of the Modern Era, 11 February – 28 May 2023
Aotearoa’s best-known and respected printmaker working during the twentieth century, Mervyn Taylor produced at least 239 wood-engravings over the course of his career, and many more linocuts as well. He initially worked as a jeweller, for which his training included engraving. Unlike his contemporaries who trained at art schools throughout the country and abroad, Mervyn was self-taught. His prints focused on subjects that were unique to Aotearoa at a time when a national identity was at the forefront of Pākehā art, including elements from Māori culture as well as landscapes and native flora and fauna. His wood-engravings remain popular and are highly sought after.