Midday Thames

Midday Thames by South African artist, Maud Frances Eyston Sumner (1902-1985). Sumner painted this scene of the Battersea Power Station more than any other scene ever painted. Sumner frequently painted these scenes mostly between 1970 and 1973 and exhibited them at the Pieter Wenning Gallery in 1971 and 1973. The Battersea Power Station is a coal-fired power station in New Elms on the South Bank of the River Thames. The Power Station was shut down in 1975 and is a heritage listed building in the UK. Short Biography: Sumner was born in Johannesburg and spent her formative years in her hometown. After matriculating in South Africa she went to Oxford to study Literature in 1922 where she obtained her master's degree. After that she studied painting at the Westminster School of Arts. In 1926 Sumner moved to Paris to study at the L'Académie de la Grande Chaumière in the Montparnasse district. She was highly influenced by Maurice Denis and George Desvallières. Her first solo exhibition was held at Galerie Druet in Paris in 1932. Sumner was diagnosed with a peculiar nerve disorder known as Guillaume Barré syndrome whilst in Paris in 1978. She opted to return to South Africa to continue her work as an artist and poet up until her death in 1985 at her home in Johannesburg.