Art No. 3026
Artist : Paul Lucien Maze (1887 ~1979)
Paul Lucien Maze was born in to a French family at Le Havre, Normandy in 1887.[3] His father was a thriving tea merchant and art collector and his circle of artistic friends included Claude Monet, Raoul Dufy, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Maze learnt the fundamentals of painting from Pissarro and as a young boy he sketched on the beach with Dufy. At the age of 12, Maze was sent to school in Southampton, England to perfect his English and whilst there he fell in love with all things English. He became a naturalised British subject in 1920.
After school, Maze worked for his father’s importing firm in Hamburg and Liverpool for ten years before moving to Canada for a year.[4] He then had a brief stint as a sailor. At the outbreak of the First World War, Maze signed up as an interpreter with the British cavalry regiment, the Royal Scots Greys. He later served with the French Army on reconnaissance work. His book, A Frenchman in Khaki (1934), detailed his experiences of the action he saw on the Western Front. Churchill wrote the foreword to his book. During the Great War, his sketchbook rarely left his side; his sketches focussed on pictures of soldiers.
After the end of World War I, Maze immersed himself in the Parisian art scene. Some of his friends included André Derain, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Pierre Bonnard and in particular Édouard Vuillard. Vuillard had the most impact on Maze and encouraged his use of the medium pastels which he felt best suited the style, personality and freshness in his work. Although Maze still used oils and watercolours, pastels became his preferred choice and it was his talent as a pastellist which brought him global recognition.
In 1921, Maze married Margaret Nelson, a widow of a wartime friend, Captain Thomas Nelson. They moved to London during which time Maze painted many London scenes from pomp and pageantry to the fogs and dismal back streets. He exhibited in many major art galleries in London, America and Paris. In 1939, Maze had his first New York exhibition and in the foreword to the catalogue, Winston Churchill wrote, "His great knowledge of painting and draughtsmanship have enabled him to perfect his remarkable gift. With the fewest of strokes he can create an impression at once true and beautiful. Here is no toiling seeker after preconceived effects, but a vivid and powerful interpreter to us of the forces and harmony of Nature".[5]
During the Second World War, Maze served with the British Home Guard and then as a personal Staff Officer to Sir Arthur Travers Harris. Maze was a highly decorated soldier. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal by the British, and the Croix de Guerre and Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur by the French.
Maze competed in the art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics, but did not win a medal.[6] In 1949, Maze and his first wife divorced and in 1950 he married Jessie Lawrie, a Scottish woman who became the subject of many of his paintings.[7] They settled in Treyford, West Sussex and he depicted their domestic life in many of his works. Maze stated that "Painters are born, not made" and "the greatest teacher is nature" and so it was in rural West Sussex that he concentrated on painting pastoral landscapes and scenes.
In 1952 Maze held his first one-man exhibition at the Wildenstein Gallery in New York and that same year he went on to record the funeral of HM King George VI. He was selected as the Official Painter of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation the following year.
Maze died aged 92 with a pastel in his hand, overlooking his beloved South Downs at his home in West Sussex in 1979.
His works are in many major galleries including The Tate, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum, and in private collections worldwide, including that of HM The Late Queen Mother.[8] In a 1989 speech by Churchill's daughter, Lady Soames, she said, “The famous French artist Paul Maze was a painting companion. The ‘Cher Maître’, as we all came to call this charming man, remained a regular visitor to Chartwell for many years”.
Lived/Active: France
Known for: Painting
Charcoal
Title : Nude
18" x 23"
Signed
Original Frame
$1,200
Paul Lucien Maze was born in to a French family at Le Havre, Normandy in 1887.[3] His father was a thriving tea merchant and art collector and his circle of artistic friends included Claude Monet, Raoul Dufy, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Maze learnt the fundamentals of painting from Pissarro and as a young boy he sketched on the beach with Dufy. At the age of 12, Maze was sent to school in Southampton, England to perfect his English and whilst there he fell in love with all things English. He became a naturalised British subject in 1920.
After school, Maze worked for his father’s importing firm in Hamburg and Liverpool for ten years before moving to Canada for a year.[4] He then had a brief stint as a sailor. At the outbreak of the First World War, Maze signed up as an interpreter with the British cavalry regiment, the Royal Scots Greys. He later served with the French Army on reconnaissance work. His book, A Frenchman in Khaki (1934), detailed his experiences of the action he saw on the Western Front. Churchill wrote the foreword to his book. During the Great War, his sketchbook rarely left his side; his sketches focussed on pictures of soldiers.
After the end of World War I, Maze immersed himself in the Parisian art scene. Some of his friends included André Derain, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Pierre Bonnard and in particular Édouard Vuillard. Vuillard had the most impact on Maze and encouraged his use of the medium pastels which he felt best suited the style, personality and freshness in his work. Although Maze still used oils and watercolours, pastels became his preferred choice and it was his talent as a pastellist which brought him global recognition.
In 1921, Maze married Margaret Nelson, a widow of a wartime friend, Captain Thomas Nelson. They moved to London during which time Maze painted many London scenes from pomp and pageantry to the fogs and dismal back streets. He exhibited in many major art galleries in London, America and Paris. In 1939, Maze had his first New York exhibition and in the foreword to the catalogue, Winston Churchill wrote, "His great knowledge of painting and draughtsmanship have enabled him to perfect his remarkable gift. With the fewest of strokes he can create an impression at once true and beautiful. Here is no toiling seeker after preconceived effects, but a vivid and powerful interpreter to us of the forces and harmony of Nature".[5]
During the Second World War, Maze served with the British Home Guard and then as a personal Staff Officer to Sir Arthur Travers Harris. Maze was a highly decorated soldier. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal by the British, and the Croix de Guerre and Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur by the French.
Maze competed in the art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics, but did not win a medal.[6] In 1949, Maze and his first wife divorced and in 1950 he married Jessie Lawrie, a Scottish woman who became the subject of many of his paintings.[7] They settled in Treyford, West Sussex and he depicted their domestic life in many of his works. Maze stated that "Painters are born, not made" and "the greatest teacher is nature" and so it was in rural West Sussex that he concentrated on painting pastoral landscapes and scenes.
In 1952 Maze held his first one-man exhibition at the Wildenstein Gallery in New York and that same year he went on to record the funeral of HM King George VI. He was selected as the Official Painter of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation the following year.
Maze died aged 92 with a pastel in his hand, overlooking his beloved South Downs at his home in West Sussex in 1979.
His works are in many major galleries including The Tate, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Glasgow Art Gallery and Museum, and in private collections worldwide, including that of HM The Late Queen Mother.[8] In a 1989 speech by Churchill's daughter, Lady Soames, she said, “The famous French artist Paul Maze was a painting companion. The ‘Cher Maître’, as we all came to call this charming man, remained a regular visitor to Chartwell for many years”.
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