File:Print by E. Mervyn Taylor.jpg

English: Ernest Mervyn Taylor (1909-1964) was one of New Zealand’s most prolific and well-known printmakers, working in a number of different formats over his career. From simple line drawings to elaborate wood engravings, Taylor also created large format murals as well as sculptures. His work made a significant contribution to the emergence of a distinctive New Zealand language of art and design.

During the Second World War Taylor served as a maps draughtsman and worked for the Army Education and Welfare Service, producing illustrations for their magazine 'Korero'. From 1944 to 1946 Taylor was the art editor and illustrator for the School Publications Branch of the Department of Education.

This artworks comes from a number of Education Department publications and artwork series held by Archives New Zealand. The artworks were used to illustrate stories in various education Journals or Bulletins:

Having previously experimented with wood engraving, Taylor immediately saw its merits for illustration in the school journals and adopted it as a regular form of expression. Wood engraving is the process of engraving delicate and irreversible lines into the end grain of a block of wood - one slip and the result will show.

However, due to the expensive nature of wood blocks and the shortages caused by war, Taylor often used the ingenious method of scratch board - scratching lines into a blackened shape - to create a similar look. Taylor was also apt with the pen, and many of his drawings exist in the collections.

Title: E Mervyn Taylor [98 items] Archives reference: AAAD 781 W2708 Box 15 / a www.archway.archives.govt.nz/ViewFullItem.do?code=20224180

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Material from Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga