Alden Mason is a prolific, contemporary Northwest Master. Born in Everett, Washington in 1919, Mason earned his MFA from the University of Washington in 1947. He taught painting at the University of Washington from 1949 to 1981. Throughout his career, Mason has used a variety of mediums from oil to acrylic. After becoming sensitive to the toxicity of his materials, he then moved to watercolor and oil stick.
Although the imagery and media used by Mason have gone through many changes over the years, his paintings always exhibit exuberance and inventiveness in form, color, and style. Mason draws inspiration from Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, and the many different cultures he has encountered while traveling. He has exhibited with Foster/White Gallery since 2003.
Mason’s work can be found in the collections of the Henry Art Gallery, Seattle Art Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, Museum of Northwest Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Portland Art Museum, Milwaukee Art Museum, and many private and corporate collections in the US.
Alden Mason was selected by the Seattle Art Dealers Association (SADA) to be a part of the Century 21 exhibit at the Wright Exhibition Space in Seattle.
Education and Experience
1949 – 81 Instructor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1947 MFA, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1945 BFA, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2008 “Paintings and the Whole Rigamarole,” Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA
2006 Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA
2004 Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA
2003 Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA
2002 Laura Russo Gallery, Portland, OR (also 1995, 1992)
2001 Woodside/Braseth Gallery, New Paintings, Seattle, WA
2000 Museum of Northwest Art, “Heads Up: Paintings, Alden Mason,” LaConner, WA
Olympic College Art Gallery, New Works, Bremerton, WA
1999 Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA
1998 Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA
1996 Meyerson & Nowinski Gallery, New Paintings, Seattle, WA
1995 Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA (also 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990 [Catalog], 1989, 1987, 1985, 1984)
Whatcom Museum, New Work, Bellingham, WA
SOMA Gallery, Recent Paintings, San Diego, CA
1994-95 Boise Art Museum, New Work, Boise, ID; traveled to Holter Museum, Helena MT and then to Prichard Gallery, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID
1994 Bellevue Art Museum, New Work, Bellevue, WA
1993 Bentley-Tomlinson Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Bau-Xi Gallery, Vancouver, BC (also 1980, 1976, 1971, 1969, 1965)
1990 Griffith Gallery, Steven Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX
Elaine Horwitch Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Jamison/Thomas Gallery, Portland, OR
1989 McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX
Wentz Gallery, First Prints, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Oregon Art Institute, Portland, OR
1988 Koehler Gallery, New Paintings and Drawings, Whitworth College, Spokane, WA
Stremmel Gallery, Reno, NV The Art Gym, A Selective Survey, Marylhurst College, OR, curated by Teri Hopkins
1987 Henry Art Gallery [Catalog], A Selective Survey, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, curated by Chris Bruce
1986 Seattle Art Museum [Catalog], Drawings, Seattle, WA, curated by Bruce Guenther (also 1958, 1957, 1949)
Stephen Wirtz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1985 Fountain Gallery, Portland, OR (also 1983)
1984 Fairbanks Gallery, University of Oregon, Corvallis, OR
1983 Tortue Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1982 Diane Gilson Gallery, Seattle, WA (also 1980, 1979)
Carson Sapiro Gallery, Denver, CO
1981 Charles Cowles Gallery, New York, NY
1978 Kiku Gallery, Seattle, WA
University Art Gallery, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND
1977 Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY (also 1974)
1976 Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
1975 Polly Friedlander Gallery [Catalog], Seattle, WA (also 1974, 1972, 1971, 1970)
William Sawyer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Ruth Schaffner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1974 Washington State University, Pullman, WA
1973 Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
1972 Gerard John Hayes, Los Angeles, CA (also 1971)
1969 Gordon Woodside Gallery, Seattle, WA (also 1967, 1965)
1965 Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1962 Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (also 1955, 1946)
1957 Zoe Dusanne Gallery, Seattle, WA
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
1954 Creative Galleries, New York, NY
Selected Group Exhibitions
2005 “Paintings from the King County Public Art Collection,” 4 Culture Gallery, Seattle, WA
2004 Toronto International Art Fair, Foster/White Gallery booth, Toronto, ON
2003 Crossroads: New Art from the Northwest, Center on Contemporary Art, curated by Michael Klein
2000 Northwest Masters: Paintings from the Cairncross Collection, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Sun Valley, ID
What it Meant to be Modern, Seattle Art at Mid-Century, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1997 Dealer’s Choice, Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle, WA
Kamm Collection, California State University, Northridge, CA
Safeco Collects: Northwest Art 1976 – 1997, Jundt Museum, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA
1995 Gail Severn Gallery, Ketcham, ID
Washington: 100 Years, 100 Paintings, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
Figures and Faces, North Seattle Community College Gallery, Seattle, WA
1994 Introduction, Soma Gallery, San Diego, CA
Tacoma Art Museum: Selections from the Northwest Collection, Seafirst Gallery, Seattle, WA
Pacific Northwest Annual, Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
1993 Stealth, Seafirst Gallery, Seattle, WA
The Art of Microsoft, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Washington State University, Pullman, WA
About Face, Portraits and Self Portraits, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
1992 44th Annual Academy-Institute Purchase Exhibition, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
1991 Celebrations and Ceremonies, Security Pacific, Seattle, WA
Sandy Carson Gallery, Denver, CO
National Governors Association Exhibit, Convention Center, Seattle, WA
1990 Artworks for AIDS, Seattle Center Pavilion, Seattle, WA [Catalog]
Northwest X Southwest: Painted Fictions, Palm Springs Desert Arts Museum, traveling exhibition [Catalog]
1989 Northwest Annual, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA, curated by Nancy Spero and Leon Golub
Painting and Sculpture by Candidates for Art Awards, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
1988 Contemporary Survey: A Visible Presence in the Northwest, Cheney Cowles Museum, Spokane, WA
West Coast Contemporary, Sierra Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV
1987 Focus: Seattle, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA [Catalog],
Northwest 87, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA, curated by Bruce Guenther
1986 Heads, Whatcom Museum of History and Art, Bellingham, WA
Northwest Impressions: Works on Paper, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, curated by Chris Bruce
1985 Bumberbiennale, Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Seattle, WA curated by Matthew Kangas
1984 Olympiad: 1984, Koplin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
What’s Happening: Contemporary Art from California, Oregon, and Washington, Alternative Museum, New York, NY [Catalog]
1983 38th Corcoran Biennial of American Painting, Second Western States Exhibition, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; traveled to Scottsdale Center for the Arts, AZ, Laguna Beach Museum of Art, CA, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, NY [Catalog]
1982 An American Tradition: Abstraction, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA [Catalog]
1981 The Washington Year: A Contemporary View, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA [Catalog]
1979 Washington Open, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
1976 Masters of the Northwest, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
1975 Fourteen Abstract Painters, Frederick S. Wright Art Gallery, University of California, Los Angeles, CA [Catalog]
1974 Art of the Pacific Northwest, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., traveling exhibition [Catalog]
1973 Northwest Annual, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (also 1943-51, 1954-61, 1971-72)
Governors Invitational Exhibition of Washington Artists, State Capitol Museum, Olympia, WA (also 1964, 1967-69)
The 74th Western Annual, Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO [Catalog]
1972 Drawings by Contemporary Artists of the Northwest, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA; University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
1971 Pacific Cities Loan Exhibition, Aukland City Art Museum, Denver, CO [Catalog]
1970 Drawing Society National Exhibition, American Federation of the Arts, New York, NY [Catalog]
1969 Spirit of the Comics, Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, PA [Catalog]
1966 35 Seattle Artists, Kobe Municipal Art Museum, Japan
Invitational, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
1965 Art Across America, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
1962 Northwest Art Today, Seattle Worlds Fair, Seattle, WA
1960 Abstract Expressionism in the West, San Francisco MOMA, San Francisco, CA
1958 Art USA National, Nordness Gallery, New York, NY
Selected Publications
2008 Hackett, Regina. “At 88, painter still surprises himself,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 5.
Clemans, Gayle. “Pleasing Visits with Two Northwest Greats,” Seattle Times, March 21.
2004 Hackett, Regina. “Alden Mason's soul only grows more confident,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Sept. 10
Kangas, Matthew. “Exhibits show discipline underlying abstract art,” Seattle Times, Sept. 10, 47H
Gibson, Gary. “Alden Mason: Big Paintings,” first aired Sept 9, 2004 on Channel 21
Engelson, Andrew. “Visual Arts Pick: Alden Mason,” Seattle Weekly, Sept. 22-28
Turner, Li. “Alden Mason: A Collection of Paintings & Poems”
Walback, Nancy. “Art at the Port,” Anacortes American
2001 Hackett, Regina, “New Alden Mason works take a startling step into the shadows,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
1996 Kangas, Matthew, Art in America,March Hackett, Regina. “Fast hands, big heads, skinny legs: Mason’s exuberant world of paint,” Seattle Post Intelligencer.
1986 Hackett, Regina. “Growing old or up isn’t for Alden Mason,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, March 6.
Selected Awards
2005 Northwest Legacy: Visual Arts, Mayor’s Arts Award, Seattle, WA
1992 WESTAF/NEA Regional Fellowship for Visual Artists for distinguished achievement in painting
1988 King County Honors Commission Award
Selected Public Commissions
2005 6th Ave NW Pocket Park—entry columns and sidewalk pavers created in collaboration with Stephen McClelland
1988 Lunar Promenade, 5’ x 18’, Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, WA
1987 McGraw Hall Opera House, Four Murals 4’ x 13’ each, Seattle, WA (formerly Seattle City Light Promenade)
1982 Yellow Birds, 3’ x 11.5’, Renton District Court, Renton, WA
Portland Rose, 6’ x 9’, Portland Justice Center, Portland, OR
Big Chief Seattle, 5’ x 24’, Sheraton Hotel, Seattle, WA
1981 Two Murals in Washington State Senate Chambers, 12’ x 44’, Olympia, WA
Selected Public Collections
Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, TX
Bellevue Art Museum, Bellevue, WA
Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID
Charles B. Goddard Center for the Arts, Ardmore, OK
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Meany Hall, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Museum of Northwest Art, LaConner, WA
Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA
Oregon Art Institute, Portland, OR
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA
Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR
Renton City Art Collection, Renton, WA
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA
Seattle Arts Commission, Seattle, WA
Spokane City Art Collection, Spokane, WA
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
University of Oregon Museum of Art, Eugene, OR
Washington State Arts Commission, Olympia, WA
Washington State University Art Museum, Pullman, WA
Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA
Selected Corporate Collections
Alaska Airline Corporation, Seattle, WA
Bank of America, Seattle, WA
Idaho First National Bank, Boise ID
Mercantile Bank of Canada, Vancouver, BC
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA
Nordstrom, San Francisco, CA
Piper, Jaffray and Hopwood, Minneapolis, MN
Polyclinic, Seattle, WA
Prudential Insurance Company of America, Los Angeles, CA
Rainier Club, Seattle, WA
Safeco Insurance Company, Seattle, WA
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Sea-Tac, WA
Security Pacific Bank, Seattle, WA
Steve Chase Associates, New York, NY
Swedish Hospital, Seattle, WA
Taco Bell Corporation, Irvine, CA
US West Communications, Seattle, WA
Warner Brothers Records, Burbank, CA
Washington Mutual Savings Bank, Seattle, WA
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