Dennis Lattimer
{{Short description|New Zealand mural artist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}{{Use New Zealand English|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Dennis Lattimer
| image =
| caption = Lattimer beside the Life Savers mural, Ōpunake (1998)
| nationality = New Zealander
| known_for = Large–scale community murals
| style = Public art
| notable_works = Reflections of Ōpunake (1998–2002);
Pharmacies Thru the Ages (2012);
Paihia Village Green history mural (2012)
| awards = Resene Mural Masterpieces – best community mural (2012){{cite news |title=Kids' mural tells perfect story |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/kids-mural-tells-perfect-story/BAE3RMVYX7LLZLRP6446GBDKZE/ |work=Northern Advocate |publisher=NZ Herald |date=16 January 2013 |access-date=12 May 2025}}
}}
Dennis Lattimer is a New Zealand mural artist and illustrator. Active since the 1990s, he has completed more than 30 permanent outdoor murals, most notably the series that gave the Taranaki town of Ōpunake its reputation as "Mural Town of the West".{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Jared |title=Opunake furthers 'mural' name |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/taranaki-daily-news/news/6920705/Opunake-furthers-mural-name |work=Taranaki Daily News |publisher=Stuff |date=15 May 2012 |access-date=12 May 2025}}
Career
Lattimer trained as a commercial signwriter before turning to large-scale mural work in the late 1990s.{{cite web |title=Mural Masterpieces – Dennis Lattimer |url=https://www.resene.co.nz/competition/murals/m077.htm |website=Resene |access-date=12 May 2025}}
- In 1998 he completed Life Savers, a 35 × 8 m depiction of Opunake's surf-lifesaving culture painted on concrete block in the central business district.
- Between 1998 and 2002 he produced the ten-panel Reflections of Ōpunake cycle, charting local history from 1900 to 2000.{{cite web |title=Opunake Wall Murals H9522 |url=https://geoffcloake.co.nz/gallery/favouties/street/opunaki-wall-murals-h9522-572 |website=Geoff Cloake Photography |access-date=12 May 2025}}
- Pharmacies Thru the Ages (2012) portrays the town's three long-serving chemists and was unveiled on Tasman Street after 19 working days of painting.
- In the same year he was commissioned by the Paihia Phantom Placemakers to create a jigsaw-style mural narrating the history of Paihia, Bay of Islands.{{cite news |last=de Graaf |first=Peter |title=Writing's on the wall for local history |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/writings-on-the-wall-for-local-history/IMWD6XBGAH6XCQTMQEEWUYLOOE/ |work=Northern Advocate |publisher=NZ Herald |date=7 September 2012 |access-date=12 May 2025}}
The Paihia project and the Ōpunake pharmacy mural jointly earned him the Resene Mural Masterpieces national award for best community mural in 2012.
Publications
- {{cite book |last=Lattimer |first=Dennis |title=A Day at the Races |publisher=RandNZ |location=Christchurch |year=2003 |isbn=978-0-473-09792-9}} A cartoon collection written and illustrated by Lattimer.{{cite web |title=A Day at the Races |url=https://smithsbookshop.co.nz/p/a-day-at-the-races |website=Smiths Bookshop |access-date=12 May 2025}}
Selected murals
Recognition
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/25903/surf-lifesaving-mural Ron Lambert, "Taranaki places – Cape Egmont,"] Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand (Retrieved 13 May 2025)
- [https://www.resene.co.nz/competition/murals/m077.htm Resene Mural Masterpieces gallery – Dennis Lattimer] (Retrieved 12 May 2025)
- [https://www.opunakenz.co.nz/copy-of-opunake-lake Opunake mural trail map] – Egmont Community Arts Council (Retrieved 12 May 2025)]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lattimer, Dennis}}
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:New Zealand muralists
Category:New Zealand illustrators
Category:20th-century New Zealand artists