Briefly returning to New York, he was determined to show his skeptical father that he could paint. Maurer painted what arguably is his most famous painting "An Arrangement", using a woman next door as a model and completing the work (on a borrowed piece of cardboard) in a matter of hours. The painting received first prize at the 1901 Carnegie International Exhibition. Other awards received by Maurer included the Inness Jr. prize of the Salmagundi Club in 1900 and a bronze medal at the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, New York in 1901. In 1905 he won the third medal at the Liège International Exposition and a gold medal at the International Exposition in Munich. 