Modernism in the Waikato

Melvin Day: A Modernist Perspective

Waikato Museum Te Whare Taonga o Waikato 22 June–6 October, curated by Mark Hutchins-Pond

Among modernist painters Melvin (Pat) Day (1923–2016) has been somewhat undervalued by art historians and critics, or ignored altogether. For example, he was not included in Gordon Brown and Hamish Keith’s seminal 1969 publication . It is puzzling because he had a long and productive career, had excellent academic credentials and held influential positions such as Director of the National Art Gallery in Wellington from 1968 to 1978. This neglect is especially striking since his work was stylistically advanced and at the cutting edge of contemporary practice in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite the scale and ambition of his paintings, he has never been accorded the status achieved by his contemporaries such as Hotere and Mrkusich. This makes the new survey exhibition of Melvin Day’s painting at the Waikato Museum a timely occasion to reassess his work. Day was born in Hamilton and the show is centred on a substantial bequest of his works made from his estate. (Sadly the catalogue was not available when this article was written.) is an extensive and well-displayed exhibition, giving ample opportunity to see all aspects