Owen Merton
Encyclopedia
Owen Heathcote Grierson Merton, RBA
(1887–1931) was a New Zealand
-born British
painter, known primarily for his watercolours, landscapes
, and seascapes
. His work shows the influence of the Post-Impressionist representational style.
Merton was born in Christchurch
, New Zealand
, where he studied at the Canterbury School of Art. He married Ruth Jenkins, an American, by whom he had two sons, the well-known Trappist monk Thomas Merton
and John Paul Merton. He painted in England
and France
until 1916, when the pressures of the First World War drove him and his family to move in with his in-laws in Flushing
, Long Island
, where he worked briefly as a landscape gardener.
After the 1921 death of his wife, Merton lived in Cape Cod
, Massachusetts
, then in Bermuda
. Throughout his career, Merton exhibited his paintings, with varying degrees of success. After returning to Europe in 1923, was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists
. He continued to travel between his birthplace of New Zealand, Europe, and the USA. He died of a brain tumour in England in 1931.
Owen Merton's paintings are on permanent display in galleries around the world, most particularly in England and New Zealand, where a major retrospective
of his work was displayed in 2004.
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
(1887–1931) was a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
painter, known primarily for his watercolours, landscapes
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
, and seascapes
Seascape
A seascape is a photograph, painting, or other work of art which depicts the sea, in other words an example of marine art. By a backwards development, the word has also come to mean the view of the sea itself, and be applied in planning contexts to geographical locations possessing a good view of...
. His work shows the influence of the Post-Impressionist representational style.
Merton was born in Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, where he studied at the Canterbury School of Art. He married Ruth Jenkins, an American, by whom he had two sons, the well-known Trappist monk Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton, O.C.S.O. was a 20th century Anglo-American Catholic writer and mystic. A Trappist monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky, he was a poet, social activist, and student of comparative religion...
and John Paul Merton. He painted in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
until 1916, when the pressures of the First World War drove him and his family to move in with his in-laws in Flushing
Flushing, Queens
Flushing, founded in 1645, is a neighborhood in the north central part of the City of New York borough of Queens, east of Manhattan.Flushing was one of the first Dutch settlements on Long Island. Today, it is one of the largest and most diverse neighborhoods in New York City...
, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where he worked briefly as a landscape gardener.
After the 1921 death of his wife, Merton lived in Cape Cod
Cape Cod
Cape Cod, often referred to locally as simply the Cape, is a cape in the easternmost portion of the state of Massachusetts, in the Northeastern United States...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, then in Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. Throughout his career, Merton exhibited his paintings, with varying degrees of success. After returning to Europe in 1923, was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
. He continued to travel between his birthplace of New Zealand, Europe, and the USA. He died of a brain tumour in England in 1931.
Owen Merton's paintings are on permanent display in galleries around the world, most particularly in England and New Zealand, where a major retrospective
Retrospective
Retrospective generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. For example, the term is used in medicine, describing a look back at a patient's medical history or lifestyle.-Music:...
of his work was displayed in 2004.