he daughter of artist parents, Paul Jacob Naftel and Isabel Oakley, Naftel was brought up in Guernsey (Channel Islands) until 1870, when the family moved to London. She was taught first by her father, then at the Slade School (London) and also in Paris, in the studio of Carolus Duran. She began to exhibit at the Society of Lady Artists in 1874, the Royal Academy in 1875 and the Dudley in 1877, specialising as both her parents did in watercolour.
Her subject-matter ranged from landscape to flower-studies, and in many works she sought a blend of the two genres. In 1886 she published the book Flowers and how to paint them (Cassell’s). In the following year, she was elected an associate member of the Old or Royal Watercolour Society, becoming only the sixteenth woman to gain membership since the Society’s inception in 1804. In the last years of her life her work was to be seen at the Grosvenor Gallery, the New Gallery and of course at the RWS annual exhibitions. She died of "a painful illness" at the age of thirty-three.
Exhibited works
[*** = this painting discussed on the site so far.]
- Herbaceous Border
- Spring Flowers in a Vase
- Azaleas in a Jug (1881)
- Mrs Birch’s Garden, Bettwys-y-Coed (1881)
- A Moment of Rest on Wash-day (1885)
- Tending the Cabbage Patch (1885)
- An Autumn Garden (1887)
- Sand Dunes near Boulogne (1887)
- When Hops are Housed and Gardens bare (1888)***
- A Willowy Stream (1889)
Links to colour plates from Naftel's Flowers and how to paint them
- Crimson Rose
- Pelargonium
- Arum Lily
- Pink Hollyhock
- Gloire de Dijon Rose
- Japanese Anemone
- Yellow Chrysanthemum
- Pansies
- Pale Pink Rose
- Tulips
Link to related material
Bibliography
Naftel, Maud. Flowers and how to paint them. London: Cassell, 1886; new ed. 1906. Internet Archive. Contributed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Web. 12 March 2022.
Created 12 March 2022