Darrington Rain
1947
In 1940, Mason enrolled at the University of Washington to study entomology, but almost immediately found an insatiable interest in life drawing and soon changed his major to fine art, receiving an MFA in 1947. In this watercolor, we see the young artist's impression of storm clouds on the horizon in Darrington, WA, a small town nestled near the western base of the Cascade Mountains, northeast of Everett, WA where Mason was born. Here, the artist articulates in paint the distinct atmosphere of the climate of the Northwest, a region he knows intimately-Mason was raised on a farm in the Skagit Valley just north of Seattle and has lived nearly his entire life in this region. Today, at the age of ninety-one, Mason continues to maintain a studio in Seattle.
Watercolor on paper
22 1/4 x 31 in. (56.5 x 78.7 cm)
Music and Art Foundation Purchase Prize
47.139