Alden Mason (1919-2013) was a Seattle-based painter and art professor. Born in Everett, he graduated from the University of Washington (UW) with a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1947 and was hired as an instructor in 1949. Mason’s artistic career took off in the 1970s, with exhibitions in Seattle museums and galleries as well as shows across western North America. In 1981, Mason and fellow artist Michael Spafford received a commission to create murals for the Washington State Capitol Building, but the murals were removed shortly after installation because legislators found them objectionable. Against Mason’s protests, the murals were installed at the Centralia College library. Early in his career Mason worked with oil-based paints, but he switched to acrylics after developing health issues from the toxic fumes. He started using squeeze bottles to apply paint to canvas, enjoying the speed of the work and the dynamic lines it created.

Here, Mason is photographed standing in front of one of his works.

Caption information source: “Mason, Alden (1919-2013)” by Sheila Farr, HistoryLink, retrieved from https://www.historylink.org/File/10116.