Standing Figure, Back View 1953

Frank Mason’s ‘Standing Figure, Back View’ is a little jewel of a painting, isn't it? I can just imagine Mason in his studio, wrestling with the dark hues and trying to coax a figure out of the shadows. You know, it’s like he’s building up the form with these buttery strokes, scratching into the surface, letting the light play on the model’s back. The paint isn't too thick, but you get a sense of the artist's hand moving across the canvas, a real physical connection. There’s something so vulnerable and exposed about the figure turned away from us. This kind of painting is not so fashionable these days, but I wonder if artists like Frank Mason had a quiet, persistent dedication to the tradition, to the very act of painting itself. He probably considered himself in an ongoing conversation with the Old Masters, with all their quiet dedication. When you look closely at the surface you will see not just what he depicted but also how we are all always learning from one another.