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Afternoon On The Missouri  26 x 32"  Oil On Canvas

Afternoon On The Missouri

26 x 32"

Oil On Canvas

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Around First (drawing) 11” x 8” Graphite On Paper

Around First (drawing)

11” x 8”

Graphite On Paper

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Behind The Plate 14” x 14” Oil On Board

Behind The Plate

14” x 14”

Oil On Board

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Big Right Hander 16” x 10” Oil On Board

Big Right Hander

16” x 10”

Oil On Board

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Dollar Dog Night, Progressive Field, Cleveland 48” x 60” Oil On Canvas

Dollar Dog Night, Progressive Field, Cleveland (SOLD)

48” x 60”

Oil On Canvas

 

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Extra Bases 16” x 20” Oil On Board

Extra Bases (SOLD)

16” x 20”

Oil On Board

 

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Flood, Bottomlands  8" x 10"  Oil On Panel

Flood, Bottomlands (SOLD)

8" x 10"

Oil On Panel

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Getting The Sign  14” x 18” Oil On Board

Getting The Sign

14” x 18”

Oil On Board

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Leading Off 12” x 9” Oil On Board

Leading Off

12” x 9”

Oil On Board

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Looking In For The Sign 12” x 9” Oil On Board

Looking In For The Sign (SOLD)

12” x 9”

Oil On Board

 

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Looking In (drawing) 10” x 7” Graphite On Paper

Looking In (drawing) (SOLD)

10” x 7”

Graphite On Paper

 

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Maybrook Morning  10" x 8"  Oil On Panel

Maybrook Morning

10" x 8"

Oil On Panel

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Maybrook With Three White Pines  12" x 12"  Oil On Panel

Maybrook With Three White Pines

12" x 12"

Oil On Panel

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Missouri Bottomlands  22″ x 16″  Oil On Panel

Missouri Bottomlands

16″ x 20″

Oil On Panel

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On Deck 14” x 11” Oil On Board

On Deck (SOLD)

14” x 11”

Oil On Board

 

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On Deck (drawing) 7.5” x 8” Graphite On Paper

On Deck (drawing) (SOLD)

7.5” x 8”

Graphite On Paper

 

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Path Through A Meadow  8" x 10"  Oil On Panel

Path Through A Meadow

8" x 10"

Oil On Panel

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PNC Park, Pittsburgh 36” x 60” Oil On Canvas

PNC Park, Pittsburgh

36” x 60”

Oil On Canvas

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Power Hitter 16” x 16” Oil On Board

Power Hitter (SOLD)

16” x 16”

Oil On Board

 

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Ready 12” x 9” Oil On Board

Ready (SOLD)

12” x 9”

Oil On Board

 

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Richie At Bat 12” x 9” Oil On Board

Richie At Bat (SOLD)

12” x 9”

Oil On Board

 

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Richie in Connie Mack  30" x 40"  Oil On Canvas

Richie in Connie Mack (SOLD)

30" x 40"

Oil On Canvas

 

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Rosy Fingers, Napton  16" x 20"  Oil On Board

Rosy Fingers, Napton (SOLD)

16" x 20"

Oil On Board

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Saline County, Summer Sky  22″ x 40″  Oil On Canvas

Saline County, Summer Sky

30″ x 40″

Oil On Canvas

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Spring Training 30” x 34” Oil On Linen

Spring Training

30” x 34”

Oil On Linen

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Storm Approaching, Napton  18" x 14"  Oil On Board

Storm Approaching, Napton (SOLD)

18" x 14"

Oil On Board

 

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Stretch  30” x 40”  Oil On Canvas

Stretch

30” x 40”

Oil On Canvas

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Snowed In,  16" x 20"  Oil On Board

Snowed In, Napton (SOLD)

16" x 20"

Oil On Board

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The Great American Ballpark With Birds 22” x 19” Ink Jet Print, A/P

The Great American Ballpark With Birds (SOLD)

22” x 19”

Ink Jet Print, A/P

 

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Wind Up 30” x 40” Oil On Canvas

Wind Up

30” x 40”

Oil On Canvas

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Afternoon On The Missouri  26 x 32"  Oil On Canvas

Afternoon On The Missouri

26 x 32"

Oil On Canvas

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Around First (drawing) 11” x 8” Graphite On Paper

Around First (drawing)

11” x 8”

Graphite On Paper

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Behind The Plate 14” x 14” Oil On Board

Behind The Plate

14” x 14”

Oil On Board

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Big Right Hander 16” x 10” Oil On Board

Big Right Hander

16” x 10”

Oil On Board

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Dollar Dog Night, Progressive Field, Cleveland 48” x 60” Oil On Canvas

Dollar Dog Night, Progressive Field, Cleveland (SOLD)

48” x 60”

Oil On Canvas

 

Extra Bases 16” x 20” Oil On Board

Extra Bases (SOLD)

16” x 20”

Oil On Board

 

Flood, Bottomlands  8" x 10"  Oil On Panel

Flood, Bottomlands (SOLD)

8" x 10"

Oil On Panel

Getting The Sign  14” x 18” Oil On Board

Getting The Sign

14” x 18”

Oil On Board

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Leading Off 12” x 9” Oil On Board

Leading Off

12” x 9”

Oil On Board

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Looking In For The Sign 12” x 9” Oil On Board

Looking In For The Sign (SOLD)

12” x 9”

Oil On Board

 

Looking In (drawing) 10” x 7” Graphite On Paper

Looking In (drawing) (SOLD)

10” x 7”

Graphite On Paper

 

Maybrook Morning  10" x 8"  Oil On Panel

Maybrook Morning

10" x 8"

Oil On Panel

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Maybrook With Three White Pines  12" x 12"  Oil On Panel

Maybrook With Three White Pines

12" x 12"

Oil On Panel

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Missouri Bottomlands  22″ x 16″  Oil On Panel

Missouri Bottomlands

16″ x 20″

Oil On Panel

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On Deck 14” x 11” Oil On Board

On Deck (SOLD)

14” x 11”

Oil On Board

 

On Deck (drawing) 7.5” x 8” Graphite On Paper

On Deck (drawing) (SOLD)

7.5” x 8”

Graphite On Paper

 

Path Through A Meadow  8" x 10"  Oil On Panel

Path Through A Meadow

8" x 10"

Oil On Panel

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PNC Park, Pittsburgh 36” x 60” Oil On Canvas

PNC Park, Pittsburgh

36” x 60”

Oil On Canvas

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Power Hitter 16” x 16” Oil On Board

Power Hitter (SOLD)

16” x 16”

Oil On Board

 

Ready 12” x 9” Oil On Board

Ready (SOLD)

12” x 9”

Oil On Board

 

Richie At Bat 12” x 9” Oil On Board

Richie At Bat (SOLD)

12” x 9”

Oil On Board

 

Richie in Connie Mack  30" x 40"  Oil On Canvas

Richie in Connie Mack (SOLD)

30" x 40"

Oil On Canvas

 

Rosy Fingers, Napton  16" x 20"  Oil On Board

Rosy Fingers, Napton (SOLD)

16" x 20"

Oil On Board

Saline County, Summer Sky  22″ x 40″  Oil On Canvas

Saline County, Summer Sky

30″ x 40″

Oil On Canvas

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Spring Training 30” x 34” Oil On Linen

Spring Training

30” x 34”

Oil On Linen

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Storm Approaching, Napton  18" x 14"  Oil On Board

Storm Approaching, Napton (SOLD)

18" x 14"

Oil On Board

 

Stretch  30” x 40”  Oil On Canvas

Stretch

30” x 40”

Oil On Canvas

Shop

Snowed In,  16" x 20"  Oil On Board

Snowed In, Napton (SOLD)

16" x 20"

Oil On Board

The Great American Ballpark With Birds 22” x 19” Ink Jet Print, A/P

The Great American Ballpark With Birds (SOLD)

22” x 19”

Ink Jet Print, A/P

 

Wind Up 30” x 40” Oil On Canvas

Wind Up

30” x 40”

Oil On Canvas

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Max Mason - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Napton Roadside, 20" x 16", Oil On Canvas

Life is messy. Maybe that’s why we’re attracted to the “picturesque”; the order and stillness of Edward Hopper’s “Sunday Morning”, the gauzy atmospherics and simple contrast of two figures, one old, one young in George Caleb Bingham’s “Fur Traders on the Missouri River” - two undoubtedly picturesque paintings. While these simple, direct, light-filled canvases are no doubt attractive to the eye, it’s the complexity under the surface, the melancholy implication of the passage of time and our own mortality that stirs deeper currents and causes those images to stay fixed in our brains. And it is the contrast between the two, the surface calm with the depths of darker thought that make these great works of art. The 16th century Dutch painter Bruegel was genius at depicting the complicated and messy truth of his life and times. The regional painters of the 20’s and 30’s and 40’s, Thomas Hart Benton, George Bellows, Maynard Dixon, Rockwell Kent, and the painters known as The Canadian Seven are inspiring in this way. Their paintings are about familiar territory and larger, darker truths.

The intimacy of known ground is a rich and complicated source of inspiration. I paint places I know and love with a non-ironic, mostly straightforward, sometimes romantic vision. It can be the back yard or places in my personal history that are full of wonder and awe. Of particular interest to me are baseball players, fields and stadia, a passion that dates back to the summers I spent in St. Louis at my grandparent’s house, a place filled with love and my adolescent fantasies of being a ballplayer. To this day I long for the pure joy and wonderment I felt imagining the light filled space of the ballpark. The only way I have found to capture and communicate this feeling is by organizing and unifying the visual elements with a specific light, and a strong composition.These elements are timeless artistic virtues and organizing principles that I try to base my work on.

Max Mason - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Afternoon On The Missouri, 26" x 32", Oil On Canvas

"In a recently discovered letter, my father relates how much baseball has meant to him, his father, and grandfather through the years. That's four generations, back to the 19th century, that loved, and continue to love the game."

- Max Mason

Max Mason - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Twilight, Saline County, 22" x 24", Oil On Canvas

Born in 1952, Max Mason grew up in the Boston area, attended Belmont Hill School and then Vassar College where he graduated in 1975 with a degree in Geology. He began studying art his senior year in college and after some adventures moved to Philadelphia with his future wife in 1981 to study with the landscape painter Neil Welliver at The University of Pennsylvania. He had his first one person show of large landscape paintings at the Gross McCleaf Gallery in 1986.

 

Soon after he began painting baseball subjects and had a one person show at the Butler Institute of American Art in 1992. In 2004 he was commissioned by the Philadelphia Phillies to do a number of paintings and murals for their new ballpark. He has exhibited internationally and has had over 20 one person shows nationwide.

 

Mason is represented by Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia and will have and will have his second one person show at The Butler Institute in the spring of 2021. He is also a musician and performs with his daughter Margaret as well as with the power swing band “The After Dinner Mints”. He released his first album, “Social Security” in 2020. He and his wife live in Wynnewood, PA.

Video

"The Spirit of Baseball, New Art by Max Mason" - John Thornton Artist Film

Max Mason is an extraordinary painter, and although he has painted many subjects, baseball is perhaps closest to his heart. He talks about his new show that is an attempt to capture the enduring spirit of the game.