Nan Mason (July 17, 1896 – March 2, 1982) was a painter and photographer.

Early life

Nan Mason was born in New York City on July 17, 1896.

Career

As a painter, Nam Mason was part of the Woodstock Artist Colony and also that of

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and

Anna Maria Island, Florida Anna Maria Island, is a barrier island on the coast of Manatee County, Florida, in the United States. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf of Mexico, on the south by Longboat Pass (which separates it from Longboat Key), on the east by Anna Mar ...

. Mason specialized in enamel painting, adopting "semi abstract urban motifs and bolder colors", with a cubist movement influence. Mason was on the Board of Trustees of the Woodstock Guild of Craftsmen. During the Depression of the 1930s, Mason and Hervey opened their own shop, "Gaylite Candles", which gathered several stores in Manhattan, including

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; the candles itself were hand-made by Mason. In 2015, the James Cox Gallery at Woodstock displayed the exhibition ''Wilna Hervey & Nan Mason: Two Woodstock Originals''.

Personal life

Nan Mason first partner, Arthur Ryan, died of pneumonia before their wedding. In the 1920s she became the long-time partner of actress Wilna Hervey. They met on the set in Pennsylvania, Mason was the daughter of Hervey's co-star Dan Mason. At first they lived with Mason's father, in a home in

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, and later moved together in a studio home in

Bearsville, New York Bearsville is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the town of Woodstock. It is located along New York State Route 212, within Catskill State Park The Catskill Park is in the Catskill Mountains in New York in the United Sta ...

, their principal home until Hervey's death in 1979. They were part of the artists community in Woodstock, New York, and during the summers they moved to

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and municipal corporation, incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its n ...

, and

Manatee County, Florida Manatee County is a county in the Central Florida portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county ...

. Every year they hosted an annual costume party during which they auctioned art works to raise money for charity. They help raising their nephew, future Lt. Col. Bruce Campbell Cator, who lived with them in Bearsville for a period. He died on July 7, 1960. In 1962, Hervey and Mason inherited the main share of

Eugene Speicher Eugene (Edward) Speicher NA (April 5, 1883 – May 11, 1962) was an American portrait, landscape, and figurative painter. He was one of the foremost realists of his generation who closely upheld the mantle of his mentor, Robert Henri. Biography ...

's estate. Speicher was a noted Woodstock artist. They are buried side by side at Artists Cemetery, Woodstock, New York.

Legacy

In 2015, Joseph P. Eckhardt published ''Living Large: Wilna Hervey and Nan Mason'', a biography retelling the love story of Hervey and Mason.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Nan 1896 births 1982 deaths American women painters Artists from New York City 20th-century American women artists