Milford Mural 1

Milford Mural 1 exemplifies the illustrative, mid-century modernist style for which Russell Clark is well known. The figures likely represent atua tāne, including Tangaroa (atua of the ocean), Tāwhirimātea (atua of the wind and weather), Tāne Mahuta (atua of the forest), and Tūmatauenga (atua of war and humanity).

The work is a study for a mural for the Tourist Hotel Corporation’s Milford Hotel at Piopiotahi Milford Sound. Three such studies are known, all of which are in the Fletcher Trust Collection. It is not presently clear whether each was intended to be realised as a different mural or whether each represented a different option for a single mural. However, it appears that only Milford Mural 3 was carried to completion. Milford Hotel survives as Mitre Peak Lodge, but the mural has seemingly been destroyed.