Paul Lucien Maze (21 May 1887 – 17 September 1979) was an Anglo-French painter. He is often known as “The last of the Post Impressionists" and was one of the great artists of his generation. His mediums included oils, watercolours and pastels and his paintings include French maritime scenes, busy
New York City scenes and the English countryside. He is especially noted for his quintessentially English themes: regattas, sporting events and ceremonial celebrations, such as racing at
Goodwood,
Henley Regatta,
Trooping the Colour and yachting at
Cowes
Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes Floa ...
.
During the
First World War, Maze met
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
in the trenches and their shared love of painting led to a lifelong friendship. Maze became Churchill's artistic mentor, encouraging him to develop his drawing and painting techniques.
Biography
Paul Lucien Maze was born into a French family at
Le Havre,
Normandy, in 1887. His father was a thriving tea merchant and art collector and his circle of artistic friends included
Claude Monet,
Raoul Dufy,
Camille Pissarro
Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...
and
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...
. 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. He then had a brief stint as a sailor, he sailed as Uncertified Third Mate aboard a clipper in the southern ocean where practiced his photographic skills recording the hardships on deck working the ship in bad weather. At the outbreak of
World War I, Maze returned to France and attempted to join the French army but was deemed unfit. Determined to serve, Maze made his way to Le Havre and offered his services to the British and became an interpreter with the British cavalry regiment, the
Royal Scots Greys
The Royal Scots Greys was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army from 1707 until 1971, when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales's Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guard ...
. During the
retreat from Mons, Maze became separated from the Royal Scots and narrowly avoided being captured by the Germans but was taken prisoner by a British unit. Maze's position with the Royal Scots Greys was unofficial and his lack of documentation and his odd uniform led the British to think he was a spy. Maze was summarily sentenced to death. On his way to face the firing squad, Maze was recognised by an officer from the Royal Scots Greys who happened to be passing and who quickly secured his release.
Maze joined the staff of General
Hubert Gough, initially as a liaison officer and interpreter but increasing as a military draughtsman undertaking reconnaissance work. Maze would go to advanced positions, often forward of the British trenches, to produce accurate drawings of enemy positions and other military objectives. The work was very dangerous and Maze was wounded three times in four years.
He was awarded the
Distinguished Conduct Medal and
Military Medal by the British, and the
Croix de Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...
and
Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
by the French. His book, ''A Frenchman in Khaki'' (1934), detailed his experiences of the action that he saw on the
Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to:
Military frontiers
*Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany
*Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...
. Churchill wrote the foreword to his book.
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
Pierre Bonnard (; 3 October 186723 January 1947) was a French painter, illustrator and printmaker, known especially for the stylized decorative qualities of his paintings and his bold use of color. A founding member of the Post-Impressionist ...
and in particular
Édouard Vuillard. Vuillard had the most impact on Maze and encouraged his use of the medium of 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
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and
Paris. In 1939, Maze had his first
New York City exhibition and in the foreword to the catalogue,
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
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".
[Albany Fine Art. "Paul Maze". Stephanie Connell. 21 Sep 2012]
During
World War II, Maze served with the
British Home Guard and then as a personal Staff Officer to
Sir Arthur Travers Harris. Maze competed in the
art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics, but did not win a medal.
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. They settled in
Treyford
Treyford is a hamlet and Anglican parish in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies within the civil parish of Elsted and Treyford. The hamlet sits on the Elsted to Bepton Road southwest of Midhurst.
History
Treyford (''Trev ...
, 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
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
. 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
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
[Government Art Collection. "Paul Maze". Gac.Culture.gov. Sep 2012.] In a 1989 speech by Churchill's daughter,
Lady Soames, 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".
Books about Maze
*''Paul Maze: The Lost Impressionist'' (1983) Anne Singer, Aurum Press
*''Paintings by Paul Maze'' (1964) Acquavella Galleries, University of Virginia
*''Paul Maze (1887-1979): an impressionist in England'' (2010) Marsh Art Gallery, the University of Virginia
*''Paul Maze'' (1977) Wildenstein & Co. (London, England)
*''A Tribute to Paul Maze: The Painter and His Time'' (1967) Marlborough Fine Art
References
External links
*
Biography at the Tate GalleryBiography at Panter and Hall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maze, Paul
1887 births
1979 deaths
20th-century British painters
British male painters
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
French male painters
British Army personnel of World War I
Artists from Le Havre
Olympic competitors in art competitions
Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal
Recipients of the Military Medal
Rother Valley artists
20th-century British male artists
French emigrants to the United Kingdom