John Hayward: Interior murals
Title: Interior murals depicting Adam and Eve, Jacob’s dream, the Annunciation, Nativity, Baptism of Christ, Gethsemane and the Resurrection
Location: St Michael and All Angels, London Fields (C of E)
Artist: John Hayward (1929–2007, British)
Date: 1962
‘The murals at St Michael and All Angels were among the first works to be created by John Hayward (1929–2007, British) after he established himself as a freelance artist in 1961. Their blues, greens and golds were to become characteristic of Hayward’s stained glass for which he became famous in later years. The murals use the marouflage technique: the images are painted in the artist’s studio and then cut out and glued to the wall of the church. Each was designed specifically for the space it was to occupy. When they were installed in 1962, they were said to be the largest modern set of murals anywhere in the world.’
‘Hayward studied painting at St Martin’s School of Art where the work of Braque and Sutherland and the Byzantine mosaics and icons of Ravenna and Sicily became strong and enduring influences. He was thus a sensitive collaborator on the interior of a church which, being a square surmounted by a dome, is essentially Orthodox in its structure.’
‘Hayward believed that the whole of a church should contribute to the liturgical experience. The murals, the stained glass he designed for the east end of the church, and the Christus Rex do not stand on their own as individual works of art but together create a unified whole.’
‘In this, he shared the views of the church’s architect, Nugent Francis Cachemaille-Day (1896–1976), who subscribed to the ideals of the Liturgical Movement. This called for the more active participation of lay people in the official rites of the church. The movement harked back to early Christian traditions of inclusivity but looked for ways of adapting worship to contemporary life. It contended that churches should be designed to embrace the congregation in the rituals of worship.’
Further Information
Medium: Flashed Lamberts glass, opalescent glass, acid-etched, painted and stained.
Permanent display
See John Hayward’s Interior murals on the Ecclesiart map here.
Other artworks in churches by John Hayward: Over 200 in churches and cathedrals including numerous stained glass work: east window (1990), Church of St Leonard, Streatham, London; Dick Whittington memorial window (1969), Church of St Michael Paternoster Royal, London; east window (1964), St Peter’s College Chapel, Oxford; Vision of St Hubert window (1966), Church of St Mary, Chilton Foliate, Wiltshire; St Michael, east window (1970), Church of St Michael & All Angels, Micheldean, Gloucestershire; St Mary window (1963), Church of St Mary-le-Bow, London.