Career
He is described by Michel Remy in his book Surrealism in Britain as one of the "harbingers of surrealism" in Great Britain. His choice of subjects as a painter was wide. He painted figures, portraits, still-life and landscapes.
He painted in oil and watercolor.
He was a contributor to the London Bulletin in 1939, and to Arson in 1942. John exhibited his work first in London at the Wertheim Gallery in 1932.
He continued to exhibit in other venues in London and throughout the United Kingdom. His work is represented in a number of private and public collections. His paintings often showed transformed figures and a dream-like, unexpected conjunction of images.
During the 1940s, he painted portraits and still-life but later returned to Surrealism.
Melville"s relative isolation led to his work being somewhat neglected. However, in recent years his reputation has grown and his singular style has led to his inclusion in a number of public exhibitions - notably "Surrealism: Two Private Eyes" at the Guggenheim, New York in 1999 and "Surrealism in Birmingham" in 2001.