Paul Lucien Maze

There is some very minor frame abrasion at the lower edge of the board, only visible when viewed out of the frame. There is some light surface dirt and some very small scattered spots of surface matter across the composition. On extremely close examination, there appear to be two small scratches in the white pigment at the lower centre of the composition. With the exception of the above the work appears to be in very good condition. Ultraviolet light reveals a very small spot soft of florescence in the sky at the upper left of the composition. The painting is presented in a gilded frame is a canvas covered slip. Please contact the department on +44 (0) 207 293 6424 if you have any questions regarding the present work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Paul Maze was a regular visitor to Chartwell during the mid to late 1930s. Churchill and Maze first met in 1916 but it was not until 1934 when Maze asked Churchill to write the introduction to his war memoirs that they re-ignited their friendship. Churchill wrote: ‘We have the battle-scenes of Armageddon recorded by one who not only loved the fighting troops and shared their perils, but perceived the beauties of light and shade, of form and colour, of which even the horrors of war cannot rob the progress of the sun’ (Churchill, quoted in David Coombs and Minnie S. Churchill, Sir Winston Churchill’s Life Through his Paintings, Ware House Publishing, Lyme Regis, 2011, p.146). Maze and Churchill would paint together both at Chartwell and in France at the St Georges-Motel (see lot 150) and Churchill valued his advice on painting. Maze was also an ardent supporter of Churchill politically, writing in March 1936, ‘England needs you more than ever, and I can only hope that the Government will have the sense of putting you at the helm of the defence’ (Maze, letter to Churchill quoted in Mary Soames, Winston Churchill His Life as a Painter, Collins, London, p.83). Maze was particularly generous with his paintings, gifting several of them to the family and although Clementine was not particularly fond of Maze, Mary remembered him being ‘jolly (if rather noisy)’ (Mary Soames, A Daughter’s Tale, Doubleday, London, 2011, p.105).