Patrick Hayman was a prolific artist in a variety of media including painting, drawing, three-dimensional constructions, as well as writing poetry and editing an arts magazine. But it wasn’t until 1938 in New Zealand that he began to paint. Born in London, he had come to this island country at the age of nineteen in 1936 to work in the Dunedin office of P. Hayman and Co., his father’s importing firm. He left the office after only two years to explore the country, and following a long, contemplative walk on the South Island, began to paint. Afterwards, he said “it really simply burst out of me with great relief.”