01 Paintings, Olympian deities, by the Old Masters, with footnotes # 32

Frank Herbert Mason (1921 - 2009)

Olympia

Oil on canvas, c. 1983

48 x 60 inches

Private collection

OLYMPOS (Olympus) was the home of the gods who dwelt in fabulous palaces of marble and gold.


Olympos is clearly described in Homer's Iliad. It was essentially an ancient akropolis--a fortified hill-top and palace complex--located just below the peaks of Mount Olympos. The golden gates of the heavenly fortress were guarded by the three Horai (Horae) and it contained the palace of Zeus, lesser palaces for the other gods, and stables for the immortal horses. The buildings were built of stone with bronze foundations and were surrounded by cloistered courtyards with golden pavements. More on Olympia

Frank Herbert Mason (February 20, 1921 - June 16, 2009) was an American painter and teacher. His father was a Shakespearean actor and his mother was a violinist and a pianist.He attended the Music and Arts High School in New York City until he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Art Students League of New York with Frank DuMond, whose students included Georgia O’Keefe, Norman Rockwell and John Marin.

His painting, the Resurrection of Christ, can be seen in Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. In 1962, he received a commission to paint eight large paintings of the Life of St. Anthony of Padua, which were permanently installed in the 11th Century Church of San Giovanni de Malta, in Venice, where his paintings hang alongside a painting by Giovanni Bellini. Consequently, the Order of Malta conferred upon him the Cross of Merit, Prima Classe. He became the first painter to receive the honor since Caravaggio.

In response to the overcleaning of the Sistine Chapel, Mason, along with James Beck, professor of art history at Columbia University, helped form the organization, ArtWatch International.


Mason served as President of the National Society of Mural Painters for the 1995-96 year. More on Frank Herbert Mason

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, and The Canals of Venice

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