MAUD SUMNER: PAINTER AND POET BY FRIEDA HARMSEN

"MAUD SUMNER: PAINTER AND POET" BY FRIEDA HARMSEN. FIRST EDITION, 1992, HARDCOVER, 231 PAGES, MINOR TAPE REPAIR TO TOP OF SPINE, IN EXCELLENT CONDITION.

Maud Sumner, who died in 1985 at the age of 83, was widely known and much admired as a painter. That she was also a poet may come as a surprise to many. In this book three authors examine her holistic contribution. Her life history is traced against the background of her painting, which developed from French Intimiste beginnings, through later European styles, to culminate in unequivocally personal pictures that are redolent of metaphysical preoccupations. In the course of this study the paintings revealed both autobiographical details and a profound spirituality that not only explain the great attraction of her work, but also give it a timeless universality. In spite of Maud Sumner's fun-loving gregariousness, she was essentially a private person. In fact, her painting and writing reveal two personalities: "Martha, who was efficient, hard-working, practical, and who was very much part of this world; and "Mary", the withdrawn contemplative, a mystic who could, and did, make contact with God. Like her painting, her poetry provides insight into both personalities. Each chapter of "Life and work" is preceded by an example of her poetry to illustrate this. A separate "Anthology" of her poetry and prose, with commentary, is a feature of Maud Sumner: painter and poet. Many of the pieces are accompanied by a painting which, the authors believe, evokes a similar feeling. The pictures do not illustrate the words, nor do the words describe the pictures, but together they recreate and commemorate the artist.