Dennis Lattimer

Dennis Lattimer
Dennis Lattimer at his home at Coopers Beach, New Zealand, 2025
Lattimer in May 2025
Born
Dennis Arthur Lattimer

(1946-04-28)28 April 1946
Died1 July 2025(2025-07-01) (aged 79)
Coopers Beach, New Zealand
Known forLarge-scale community murals
Notable work
  • Reflections of Ōpunake (1998–2002)
  • Pharmacies Thru the Ages (2012)
  • Paihia Village Green history mural (2012)
StylePublic art
Relatives
AwardsResene Mural Masterpieces – best community mural (2012)

Dennis Arthur Lattimer (28 April 1946 – 1 July 2025) was a New Zealand mural artist and illustrator. Active during the 1990s through to the mid-2010s, he 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".

Life and career

Lattimer was born on 28 April 1946, the son of Nancy Pearl and Kenneth George Lattimer. He trained as a commercial signwriter before turning to large-scale mural work in the late 1990s.

In 1998, Lattimer 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 Ōpunake's history from 1900 to 2000. His 2012 mural, Pharmacies Thru the Ages, portrays Ōpunake's three long-serving chemists and was unveiled on Tasman Street after 19 working days of painting. In the same year, Lattimer was commissioned by the Paihia Phantom Placemakers to create a jigsaw-style mural narrating the history of Paihia, Bay of Islands.

The Paihia project and the Ōpunake pharmacy mural jointly earned Lattimer the Resene Mural Masterpieces national award for best community mural in 2012.

Lattimer died at his home in Coopers Beach, on 1 July 2025, at the age of 79.

Selected murals

YearTitleLocationNotes
1998Life SaversCBD, Ōpunake35 m × 8 m acrylic wall mural.
2000-02Reflections of ŌpunakeEgmont St, ŌpunakeTen-panel historical sequence commissioned by Egmont Community Arts Council.
2012Pharmacies Thru the AgesTasman St, ŌpunakePortrait triptych of Feaver and Cavaney family chemists.
2012Paihia History MuralVillage Green, PaihiaMulti-panel jigsaw mural tracing Bay of Islands history.

Publications

References

  1. 1 2 3 Smith, Jared (15 May 2012). "Opunake furthers 'mural' name". Taranaki Daily News. Stuff. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  2. ↑ "Birth search: registration number 1946/71105". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Mural Masterpieces – Dennis Lattimer". Resene. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  4. ↑ "Opunake Wall Murals H9522". Geoff Cloake Photography. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  5. 1 2 de Graaf, Peter (7 September 2012). "Writing's on the wall for local history". Northern Advocate. NZ Herald. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  6. ↑ "Kids' mural tells perfect story". Northern Advocate. NZ Herald. 16 January 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "Dennis Lattimer obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 8 July 2025. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "A Day at the Races". Smiths Bookshop. Retrieved 12 May 2025.