916. Graham Sutherland (1903-1980),

English, Somerset Maugham, 1949.

Oil on canvas, 137.2 x 63.5 cm. Tate Britain, London.

 

 

From 1940 to 1945 Sutherland worked as an official war artist. Then from 1947 through the mid-1960s he moved to the south of France where he painted a number of new motifs. During this period, Sutherland painted his first portrait commission, Somerset Maugham, which proved to be such a success that he received numerous commissions.