Strauss & co - 20 May 2013, Johannesburg

129 237 Maud Frances Eyston SUMNER south african 1902–1985 Bois du Boulogne signed oil on canvas 58,5 by 80 cm R600 000–800 000 notes In many respects Sumner was French in her artistic sensibilities. This is reflected in the development of her style throughout her career. 1 After a six year hiatus, Sumner returned to France in 1947. She found Paris significantly altered: ‘I felt as though I was looking through a window into a new and sparkling country.’ 2 Influenced by the Rayonnist movement as well by a fellow artist, Paul Berçot (who was married to her old friend Suzanne Tissier de Mallerais), Sumner’s style changed considerably. 3 From this time a greater experimentation can be seen in her work and heralded her period of fragmentation. In Bois du Boulogne the window pane of the canvas is criss-crossed by tree shapes in the foreground, with the placid lake visible beyond. Throughout the picture surface there is a rich patchwork of colour; layered, pared back and reworked, this brilliant palette leads a visual dance across the picture plane. 1. Berman Esmé. Art & Artists of South Africa . Southern Book Publishers, Halfway House, 1994, page 444 2. Ibid, page 445 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayonism