H.L. Mason
Hubert Lee Mason (H.L. Mason) was born December 27, 1913 in Portland, Oregon. H.L. Mason was also known as Mase or H. Lee Mason and interchanged his name throughout his life. H.L. Mason graduated from the Maryland Institute of Art as a commercial artist in 1933 and worked in editorial illustrations, as a cartoonist, and for the New York World Telegram, Washington Post, and Baltimore Sun.
In addition to his pursuit of art H.L. Mason also studied aeronautical drafting and illustration at the Maryland Institute of Art in 1941 and obtained an aeronautical and mechanical engineering degree from the International Correspondence School (ICS) after the Second World War.
After Pearl Harbor, H.L. Mason was drafted into military service and assigned
to work in the defense industry in aircraft design. Being re-activated in 1945 for a short period of time, H.L. Mason continued his service and was assigned to a special design unit for the Department of Defense. His team worked designing bombers and specialty equipment, including the prototype to the jet ejection seat and the afterburner shroud for military jets.
After WWII, H.L. Mason worked in the aerospace industry designing rocket engines, associated equipment and systems, and scientific equipment including crucibles for the Mars Probe. Later, as an optical scientist at Martin Marietta, H.L. Mason helped design and assemble the prototype of the Skylab Telescope. Using his unique abilities as an illustrator and commercial artist, H.L. Mason was able to combine his engineering knowledge and art- illustrating three dimensional mechanical systems during design (something not readily available before widespread computer modeling). The ability to see the whole mechanical unit and how it fit together gave an edge in design that set him apart amongst his team.
During his time as an engineer, he continued to paint and sketch, make cartoons, and draw caricatures. Once retired from engineering, he totally
focused on art and the art world as a companion to his wife and artist, Pamela Mason.
In 1937, H.L. Mason met Ruth Imandt Kittle, also known in the art world and life as Pamela Mason in New York, New York. Having stolen her “spot” as a sidewalk artist, H.L. and Pamela hit it off- marrying two weeks after that first meeting. Their love lasted through 59 years of marriage. H.L. Mason and Pamela Mason were constant companions, and both integrally involved in the art world.
H.L. Mason worked in all mediums including pencil, pen and ink, oil, casein, watercolor, and in printmaking using lithograph, etching, and woodcuts. With Pamela Mason at his side, they traveled throughout the continental United States, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe, Guatemala, Canada, Greece, and northern Africa, recording their experiences in sketches and paintings.
Mase designed and built an artist's studio for his wife, Pamela Mason, and himself in Long Beach and Brea, California; Boulder, Colorado; Taos, New Mexico; and, Greenland, Arkansas.