She was hailed as a child genius by newspapers throughout Britain and as far away as Boston, and, in a matter of days, each one of the hundred paintings on show had sold.
In her adult life Somerville continued to paint and, during the early 1960s, she moved to Middleton, near Westleton in Suffolk.
An archetypal British Impressionist who made Suffolk her home, protecting and developing the fresh, unpretentious vision she had made her own, and was able to continue to paint the things she loved: sunlight, landscapes, flowers and her family.
While in many ways she can be seen as continuing the tradition from Gainsborough, through Constable and Thomas Churchyard, to Wilson Steer, she was also deeply indebted to the French Impressionists, especially Bonnard.
[2] After her early fame, her national reputation declined until she was rediscovered by art historian Stephen Reiss during the period he was managing the Aldeburgh Festival.