Gilbert Mason 1913-1972

A brief biography and images of some of his work

Gilbert Mason was an artist and Head of the School of Painting at Birmingham College of Art. There must be a few hundred works existing many in private collections in the Midlands and former students may have examples. There are several works in public collections. This website is occasionally updated as I find more information.

Biography

  • 1913 Born in Newport, Gwent.
  • One of four brothers brought up in an orphanage in South Wales.
  • 1930-34 Studied at Newport College of Art.
  • 1934-37 Studied at the Royal College of Art in London as an etcher, engraver and draughtsman.
  • 1938-40, started his teaching career at Leeds School of Art.
  • 1940-43 Served in the Military Police
  • 1943-45 Transferred to R.A.F. Medmenham, working for the Central Photographic Interpretation unit, (Model Making Section) of the RAF. His job involved interpretation of aerial reconnaissance photographs and making 3-D models of major military operational areas to assist with battle planning. These models played an important role in the planning of the Normandy Landings of June 1944.
  • 1945-49 resumed his teaching career at Leeds School of Art.
  • 1950-52 took up the post of Vice-Principal of Eastbourne School of Art.
  • 1952-70 moved to Birmingham College of Art where he stayed for the remainder of his teaching career finally becoming Head of the School of Painting.
  • 1970(?) Retired to Shirenewton in South Wales, several of the paintings in the collection date to his time there.
  • Gilbert was married but his wife died young of meningitis, he didn’t re-marry although he was a charmer with an eye for the ladies. He had no children. (A former student tells me of college rumours of wife and children killed by WW2 bombing but I have no substantive information to that effect.)

Gilbert was:

  • Associate of the Royal College of Art
  • Associate of the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers and Engravers
  • Member of the Royal Birmingahm Society of Artists (RBSA)

Exhibitions

The works in my collection were purchased from the studio or at exhibitions in the Midlands in the 1960’s.

‘Winter Orchard’ was shown at the 2nd Open Exhibition of Contemporary Welsh Painting and Sculpture at the National Museum of Wales in February/March 1955. It was one of nine pictures which the Welsh Committee bought for its prestigious Welsh Collection. The painting was later bequeathed to the Newport Museum and Art Gallery when the Arts Council of Wales dispersed the Welsh Collection in 2005.

‘Landscape’ (94″ x 76.2″) was shown at the 3rd Open Exhibition of Contemporary Welsh Painting and Sculpture in 1956. This was bought for 30 guineas by John Petts (the Art Director of the Welsh Committee) on behalf of the Contemporary Art Society for Wales and donated to Cardiff City Council. Royal Society of Portrait Painters 1972 (“Jan and Victoria, Shirenewton” #33)

Royal Society of Portrait Painters 1972 (“Rosa and Dick Bowen at Mynnedbach House, Shirenewton” #34)

Retrospective exhibition at Birmingham Polytechnic in 1974

Royal Academy 1973 (“Standing figure” #20)

1980 Timaeus Gallery catalogue

National Museum of Wales (Turner House in Penarth) April 1980. This was a posthumous exhibition which included most of the works I now have. Scans of the catalogue pages here

At various times Gilbert also sold work through the Ikon and Compendium galleries in Birmingham.

John Moore’s Exhibition, Liverpool

One man show in Eastbourne

Arden Gallery, Henley in Arden

Various group shows in Birmingham, Bradford, Leeds, and London

Hexagon Gallery, Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham