Biography

Born Watford, 1949. After secondary education at Stanborough Park, he went on to St Albans School of Art, 1968–1970, then to Central School of Art and Design, London, 1970-1973. His art education was completed at the Royal Academy Schools, postgraduate, 1973–1976. All three of these schools were interesting examples of art education at that time and proved to be invaluable introductions to the art world; Arnold Van Praag, Blair Hughes-Stanton (1), Adrian Berg RA, Peter Greenham RA and Roderic Barrett (q.v.) being just a few of the many outstanding artists that he met during that time. While at the Academy Schools, he received a David Murray landscape award, which financed a memorable trip to Southern Ireland, with cycle rides around MacGillicuddy’s Reeks and the Ring of Kerry.

Living in London, Melvyn worked part-time in several galleries, notably the Mall Gallery. There he gained a wide knowledge about how exhibitions work, from the practical job of hanging paintings and the handling of art objects, and then learning about the art of curation and the important clerical skills that are involved in mounting exhibitions.

In 1981 Melvyn and his partner, Daphne Sandham (q.v), moved to Harwich, on the Essex coast, where they immersed themselves in a small but very active artistic community and by 1992 they had helped to establish Bodgeners Gallery, a type of artist-led cooperative. They also established the Lean-to-Press, a bijou publishing and printing venture producing their own hand printed (and some commercially printed) artist books – Snippets from the Life and Times of Trinity Mouse by M King, published 2016 and Mind the Gap, hand printed with poems by Paul Simmonds, illstrations by M King, published 1991. A long-standing member of Colchester Art Society, Melvyn has served on the general committee as well as taking on the role of Curator for the Permanent Collection and Archivist.

Exhibited widely around East Anglia and London. The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition on several occasions; the Whitechapel Open; North House Gallery, Manningtree; Colchester Art Society; Beecroft, Southend; Bodgeners Gallery, Harwich and the Eastern Open, Norwich. Work held in many private collections and also the East Contemporary Art Collection, University of Suffolk.

Melvyn has been involved with helping to curate CAS shows, including Peter Coker: Force of Nature, co -curated with Simon Carter, Minories 2019, and Life With Art: Benton End and the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, part of a team which included Simon Carter and Firstsite Gallery, Colchester 2021. Also, My Family and other Artists. Sole curator, the Minories, 2025.

Statement

“Crab Knoll Point was part of a series called ‘Red Crag’, which is the name given to a geological feature of the East Anglian landscape. As the name suggests, the colour of this feature is a deep rusty red, composed of crushed shells stained with iron oxide and can be seen exposed at Walton-on-the Naze. Crab Knoll is now a submerged area just off the coast of Walton, hence the shades of blue/green which dominate the colour scheme of the painting, with sharp notes of red to link it to red crag. The series was shown at North House Gallery, Manningtree under the title ‘Red Crag Project’ in 2017, in conjunction with work by the painter Martin Fidler”.

(1) Blair Hughes-Stanton (1902-1981) One of the earliest members of CAS. Wood engraver and painter. See 2016 catalogue for biography and illustration Consummation (CAS 44).