'The National Gallery'

'The National Gallery' oil on stretched canvas: 610 x 915mm by Eric Mason (1921-1986) signed to lower left; within a closed-corner pale cream hand-painted frame overall size: 725 x 1033mm. Two from this series of paintings 'Gateway to London' and 'Houses of Parliament', along with twenty nine other paintings of his, were published by Solomon & Whitehead (Guild Prints) Ltd. Eric Mason was naturally gifted both musically and artistically and his original ambition was to become a violin virtuoso, however, at the age of fourteen he took an apprenticeship in an art studio. He also studied for two years under Ruskin Spears, whom he recalled with affection and regarded as "one of the greatest" At the age of twenty four he had a one-man show at the Jabe Gallery, Wigmoor Street. At this period he had a strong leaning towards portrature and his painting of Churchill was bought by the Conservative Party. It was also at this period that he had a painting exhibited beside a Picasso. Our founder Michael Wood is particularily fond of this artist's work and always aims to carry select pieces.