Frank Mason: Pen and Ink

The Tomayko Foundation presents Frank Mason: Pen and Ink, a series of works on paper that span 50 years. These studies reflect Mason’s passion for capturing subjects in the moment of both action and tranquility. From galloping Spanish Horsemen and Pittsburgh Steelworkers, to sedentary cows at pasture and figures in recline, Mason used his mediums of chalk, ink, and graphite to capture the spirit and “nowness” of his subject matter. Some of these drawings were later used as reference material for multi-figure murals, such as Head of Shepherd for Mason’s most recognizable religious mural, Gloria in Excelsis Deo. 

While Mason dedicated his teaching career to passing along the skills of traditional painting, he was never the less recognized among his contemporaries in the Abstract Expressionist world. Artist Alfred Leslie appreciated Mason’s admiration for technique to the extent that he included Mason’s article about his father’s recipe for brown in in The Hasty Papers, Leslie’s literary and art journal from 1960. Many of Mason’s works shown here employ this ink medium. Both rich in tone and vibrant, the recipe was patented by his father and originally intended for writing waterproof checks in the early 1920’s. 

The drawings, central in composition and unfettered in pen stroke, help to illustrate Mason’s painterly compulsion to always practice and improve upon form and shadow. Each work is both a stand-alone image, while simultaneously contributing to Mason’s oeuvre of traditionalist painting.