My Mother

My Mother by South African artist, Maud Frances Eyston Sumner (1902-1985). The painting is of the artists grandmother and it is signed 'Sumner 36' on the book that the sitter is holding in her lap. 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 a 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. The work "My Mother" was donated by the artist after the MacFadyen Memorial Hall exhibition of 1945.