The Moon and Sixpence is a book by Somerset Maugham based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin. In this book, the central character is Charles Strickland, a middle aged English banker who abandons his wife and children abruptly in order to pursue painting. He first goes to Paris and then to Tahiti. Here he takes up with a native woman and starts painting profusely. He finally dies of leprosy, leaving behind a fantastic legacy of vivid pictures on the walls of his hut.
