Masterpiece: Paul Lucien Maze the Sea Port at Dusk, Ca 1920, Collection of Ivor Churchill, Oil on Canvas

This painting really communicates the excitement of travel, and allows us to look at the world with early 20th Century eyes. The world was so much larger, and a sea port a true gateway to the world, a place where people and cultures mingled.

I am sure the little girls dressed in white who we see on the quai had a wonderful day out, marveling at the big ships on the horizon.

It is a work by Paul Lucien Maze (1887-1979), the Anglo French artist I will probably not need to present. Often called “The last of the Post Impressionists" he was one of the great artists of his generation. During the First World War, Maze met Winston Churchill 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.

Paul Lucien Maze was born into a French family at Le Havre, Normandy. 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.

Our painting depicts the port of Maze's home town of Le Havre, and was probably painted in circa 1920, shortly before Maze married and moved to London.

Maze exhibited in many major art galleries in London, America and Paris. In 1939, Maze had his first New York City exhibition at Bignou Gallery.

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.

The exhibition was organised by the art collector Sir Ivor Spencer-Churchill - who was the initial owner of the painting proudly presented here.

Maze was introduced to Ivor Spencer-Churchill by the latter's mother, Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan in the 1920s and they were to become great friends, enjoying many weekends together. In his interview with Wolfgang Fischer in 1967, Maze recalled, "We went to Paris together and I took him round galleries and introduced him to painters. He was a man of rare sensitivity and distinction and, as he started acquiring impressionists, his inborn appreciation and judgement never led him astray.. he just loved and understood painting."

Our painting by Maze from Ivor Churchill's collection is signed twice: once at the lower right, and again on one of the fishing boats) Measuring 38 x 46 cm for the canvas, it is in very good original condition. Presented in its original antique carved wooden frame which is in fair condition, the overall size is 52 x 60 cm approx.

Nous parlons français, und wir sprechen auch Deutsch! Paintings may be viewed in Norwich and in Paris, as well as in London and Cambridge by appointment. Please contact us if you would like further details and images of an artwork.