Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1887 Christchurch, New Zealand

Died: London, England

Year of Migration to the UK: 1904

Biography

Artist Owen Merton was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1887, into a family deeply involved in the Anglican Church, education, and music. He began his formal art education at Christ's College, then studied at the Canterbury College of Art in 1903. In 1904, Merton moved to London, England to live with his aunt and uncle, furthering his education at local art schools in west London. Though no firm evidence confirms his studies from 1904 to 1906 at the New School of Art in Clareville Grove Studios and the Ealing Art School, he likely received instruction in drawing, oil and watercolour painting, poster design, and black-and-white techniques (Collins 2004, p. 8). Upon his return to New Zealand in 1907, Merton’s art had matured significantly, leading to successful solo exhibitions in Wellington and Christchurch. During this period, he encountered Dorothy Kate Richmond, a prominent figure in the Wellington art scene, whose influence left a lasting impression on his work.

In 1909, Merton returned to the UK, studying with van Havermaet in London and, in 1910, he visited the popular artist's haunt of St Ives, Cornwall. His practice included drawing, painting in oils, and the more recent medium of photography. Several watercolours, such as The Beach, St Ives, Cornwall and St Ives, Barnoon Hill closely match photographs of the town, indicating he may have used these images in his work. He subsequently joined Frances Hodgkins’ sketching class in Concarneau, France, in 1910. His time in Paris (1910–13) was particularly formative. At the Académie Colarossi and later in Percyval Tudor-Hart’s studio, Merton developed a distinctive style that would earn him membership in the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) in 1910. His exhibitions with the society in 1910 and 1911 marked the beginning of his recognition within the British art world. Merton primarily painted landscapes, townscapes, and seascapes, as well as genre scenes and architectural studies, with watercolour as his preferred medium. His later works also reveal an engagement with the techniques of Paul Cézanne. A 1910 review of the RBA exhibition singled Merton’s watercolour drawings, describing them as as ‘free and vigorous’ ( Richmond and Twickenham Times 1910, p. 6), while a review in the Chiswick Times in 1911 noted his skill in dealing with almost purely architectural subjects, which he captured from various corners of continental towns.

During his Paris years, Merton met American art student Ruth Calvert Jenkins, and they married in London in 1914. At the outbreak of the First World War, the couple moved to southern France. By 1916, they relocated to New York, USA, where Merton exhibited widely, becoming a respected figure among the avant-garde. Tragedy struck in 1921 when Ruth died of cancer, leaving Merton a widower with two young sons. This period of grief profoundly impacted his work and personal life. The early 1920s were marked by intense creativity and struggle. Merton visited Bermuda twice, and Cape Cod, where the island’s distinctive light significantly influenced his work. His Bermuda period, noted for its luminous colour and modernist exploration of picture space, marked a profound transformation in his approach. Art historian Roger Collins later described this phase, noting that ‘his colour is now incandescent, richer than it had ever been before; the picture space is compressed and the surface of the sheet is emphasised by occasional patches of uncoloured paper’ (Owen Merton: Expatriate Painter).

In 1923, Merton returned to Europe, visiting Italy, France, and England and his time in Algeria during the winter of 1923–24 further enriched his artistic repertoire. In 1925, he held a solo exhibition at the renowned Leicester Galleries in London, followed by another in New York at the Daniel Gallery. That year, Merton settled in Saint-Antonin, southwestern France, with his son. He travelled widely in southern France to paint, capturing the region’s landscapes in his watercolours. Merton’s second solo exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in 1928 solidified his standing in the British art world. His works, characterised by a blend of influences and his own vision, were well received. The Times obituary observed, ‘His pictures displayed a sense of design and a delicacy of colour which reflected his love of the Chinese masters, together with a strength and individuality which bore witness to the originality and power of the artist's mind’. During his later years, Merton continued to travel and paint across southern France, until his health began to decline, when he returned to England, only making occasional visits to France. Owen Merton died in London, England in 1931, after a prolonged illness. Merton’s work is not currently represented in UK public collections. However, his legacy, previously overlooked in New Zealand, has been reassessed through exhibitions such as: Owen Merton – Expatriate Painter at the Christchurch Art Gallery (2004). Merton's son, Thomas, became a renowned Trappist monk, writer, and social activist, widely celebrated for his influential works on Christian spirituality and his biography The Seven Storey Mountain (1948).

Related books

A Bermuda Interlude: Paintings by Owen Merton (Hamilton: Bermuda National Gallery, 2023)
New Windows on a Woman’s World: Essays for Jocelyn Harris (eds., Colin Gibson and Lisa Marr) (Department of English, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, 2005)
Roger Collins, Owen Merton: Expatriate Painter, exhibition catalogue (Christchurch: Christchurch Art Gallery, 2004)
Roger Collins, ‘Artist and Strategist: Owen Merton’s Return to New Zealand in 1907-1909’, Journal of New Zealand Art History, No. 24, 2003, pp. 51-60
Roger Collins, ‘The Summer of 1910: Hodgkins, Merton and Concarneau’, Frances Hodgkins, Paintings of Concarneau in Brittany, France. Art New Zealand No. 99, Winter 2001, pp. 94-97
Roger Collins, ‘Fronting up to the American Public: Owen Merton’s Exhibitions in the United States’, Merton Seasonal No. 26, Summer 2001, pp. 4-12
Gordon H. Brown, New Zealand Painting, 1900-1920. Traditions and Departures, exhibition catalogue (Wellington: Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council of New Zealand, 1972)
Six New Zealand Expatriates: Grace Joel, Rhona Haszard, Frances Hodgkins, Francis McCracken, Raymond McIntyre, Owen Merton (Auckland City Art, 1962)
Michael Sadler, ‘Mr. Owen Merton’, The Times, 30  January 1931, p. 19
‘Mr. Owen Merton’, The Times, 21 January 1931, p. 10
‘London Art Exhibitions’, Birmingham Daily Post, 2 June 1925, p. 6
‘Local Painters in London Exhibition’, Chiswick Times, 10 November 1911, p. 7
‘Art Notes’, Illustrated London News, 4 November 1911, p. 18
Martin Hardie, ‘The Goupil Gallery’, The Queen, 25 March 1911, p. 64
‘Royal Society of British Artists’, Manchester Courier, 16 March 1911, p. 5
‘Art Exhibition’, Lyttelton Times, 7 February 1911, p. 8
‘Local Painters at the R.B.A.’, Richmond and Twickenham Times, 8 October 1910, p. 6
‘Watercolour Exhibition’, Lyttelton Times, 25 February 1909, p. 3
‘A Successful Exhibition’, Lyttelton Times, 13 October 1908, p. 5

Related organisations

Canterbury College of Art (student)
Ealing Art School (student)
New School of Art (student)
Royal Society of British Artists (member)

Selected exhibitions

A Bermuda Interlude: Paintings by Owen Merton (Hamilton: Bermuda National Gallery, 2023)
Owen Merton: Expatriate Painter, Christchurch Art Gallery, Christchurch, New Zealand (2004)
Six New Zealand Expatriates: Grace Joel, Rhona Haszard, Frances Hodgkins, Francis McCracken, Raymond McIntyre, Owen Merton, Auckland City Art Gallery (1962)
Watercolours by Owen Merton. Paintings of London by Paul Maitland, Leicester Galleries, London (1928)
Watercolour Drawings by Owen Merton. Decorative Work by Clara Fargo Thomas, Leicester Galleries, London (1925)
Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street Galleries (1911, 1910)
New English Art Club, Suffolk Street Galleries (1910)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Owen Merton]