[3] His father was a thriving tea merchant and art collector and his circle of artistic friends included Claude Monet, Raoul Dufy, Camille Pissarro and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
[4] He then had a brief stint as a sailor, he sailed as Uncertified Third Mate aboard a clipper in the southern ocean where practiced his photographic skills recording the hardships on deck working the ship in bad weather.
On his way to face the firing squad, Maze was recognised by an officer from the Royal Scots Greys who happened to be passing and who quickly secured his release.
[5] Maze joined the staff of General Hubert Gough, initially as a liaison officer and interpreter but increasing as a military draughtsman undertaking reconnaissance work.
In 1939, Maze had his first New York City exhibition and in the foreword to the catalogue, Winston Churchill wrote, "His great knowledge of painting and draughtsmanship have enabled him to perfect his remarkable gift.
[6] During World War II, Maze served with the British Home Guard and then as a personal Staff Officer to Sir Arthur Travers Harris.
Maze stated that "Painters are born, not made" and "the greatest teacher is nature" and so it was in rural West Sussex that he concentrated on painting pastoral landscapes and scenes.
In 1952 Maze held his first one-man exhibition at the Wildenstein Gallery in New York and that same year, [citation needed] he went on to record the funeral of HM King George VI.
[citation needed] Maze died aged 92 with a pastel in his hand, overlooking his beloved South Downs at his home in West Sussex in 1979.