ALICE TRUMBULL MASON

Early Years

Born in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1904, Alice Trumbull Mason was a direct descendant of the 18th-century painter John Trumbull. She spent part of her youth in Italy, studying at the British Academy in Rome in 1921–1922. On her return to the United States, Mason continued her studies at the National Academy of Design with Charles Hawthorne, and later at the Grand Central School of Art in New York, where she was influenced by Arshile Gorky. Travels in Italy and Greece in the late 1920s exposed her to archaic Greek sculpture and Byzantine mosaics, which would become enduring influences in her art.

Mason married Captain Warwood Mason in 1930 and had two children, Emily Mason—who also became a noted painter—and Jonathan Mason. After a period focused on poetry and literary correspondence, including with Gertrude Stein, Mason returned to painting and became a leader in the American Abstract Artists group, serving as treasurer, secretary, and president.

Alice Trumbull Mason Artworks

Alice Trumbull Mason’s artworks are defined by their evolution from biomorphic abstraction to geometric, architectonic compositions. Her approach to art was grounded in a belief in the expressive potential of materials and the construction of form, rather than representation.

Early Abstraction and Biomorphic Forms (1920s–1930s)

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Mason’s work featured biomorphic forms and expressive lines, influenced by European modernism and Surrealism. She was the only artist to exhibit abstract work at the 1935 Washington Square Art Show in New York, marking her early commitment to abstraction.

Geometric and Architectural Abstraction (1940s–1960s)

By the 1940s, Mason shifted to geometric abstraction, influenced by Piet Mondrian and Constructivism. Paintings such as Latitude of Identical Shapes (1947) and her later works display her signature “architectural abstraction,” characterised by interlocking forms, rhythmic patterning, and a restrained palette. Her work diverged from the gestural style of Abstract Expressionism, focusing instead on structure and harmony.

Printmaking and Woodcuts

In 1945, Mason began working at Atelier 17 in New York, the experimental printmaking studio founded by Stanley William Hayter. There, she explored intaglio techniques, extending her abstract vocabulary into graphic media. In 1952, she began making woodcuts, distilling her compositions into sharp, interlocking forms and dynamic rhythms. The woodcut medium allowed her to emphasise contrast, symmetry, and spatial tension, resulting in works that are both architectural and expressive.

Select Awards and Accolades

• Charles M. Lea Prize, The Print Club, Philadelphia (1946)
• Treasurer’s Prize, The Society of American Graphic Artists (1948)
• The Longview Foundation, painting purchased for the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (1963).

Exhibitions

Alice Trumbull Mason has been the subject of both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions at important institutions. Below is a selection.

Solo Exhibitions

• Alice Trumbull Mason: Retrospective, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (travelled), 1973–1974
• Solo Exhibition, Museum of Living Art, New York, 1942

Group Exhibitions

• Labyrinth of Forms: Women and Abstraction, 1930–1950, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2021–2022
• Signs & Symbols, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2012
• Transitions at Mid-Century, Works on Paper 1945–1955, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2002
• 1955 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1955–1956
• 1953 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1953 __
• 1951 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1951–1952
• 1938 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1938

Website

Alice Trumbull Mason’s legacy is managed by the Emily Mason & Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation (ematm.org).

Alice Trumbull Mason FAQs

Ocula | 2025