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Raymond Mason

1922–2010

The Departure of Fruit and Vegetables from the Heart of Paris, 28 February 1969 1969–71
© Raymond Mason
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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Rooms

2 artworks by Raymond Mason
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Biography

Raymond Grieg Mason (2 March 1922, in Birmingham, England – 13 February 2010 in Paris, France) was a sculptor.

He trained at the Birmingham School of Arts and Crafts under William Bloye, the Royal College of Art (for one term), and Slade School of Art. He lived and worked in Paris beginning in 1946. He was a close friend of the late Nobel Prize–winning scientist Maurice Wilkins.

He is known for his sculptures of tightly packed people made from clay, with works on McGill College Avenue in Montreal; the Tuileries, Paris; Georgetown, Washington, D.C.; and Madison Avenue, New York. His controversial 1991 fibre-glass work, Forward in Birmingham's Centenary Square was destroyed by arson on 17 April 2003. The statue carried a reference to DNA ("the secret of life") in connection with Maurice Wilkins, who went to school in Birmingham and worked at the University of Birmingham.

He was the subject of an episode of the BBC television series Omnibus, "The Return of Raymond Mason," broadcast on 28 November 1982, and was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for "services to sculpture and to Anglo-French relations" in the 2002 New Year Honours.

The sculptor Ron Mueck commented on his death: "I cannot remember there not being a Raymond Mason book on my shelf... The strong pulse of Life in his work always impressed me greatly. When I look at Mason's work it feels like seeing clearly through someone else's eyes. That can be an unsettling experience, but rewarding when it is a vibrant, unique vision of the world."

This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License. Spotted a problem? Let us know.

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Artworks

  • Man in the Street (large version)

    Raymond Mason
    1976
    View by appointment
  • The Month of May in Paris

    Raymond Mason
    1968
    View by appointment
  • Barcelona Tram

    Raymond Mason
    1953, cast 1968
  • St Mark’s Place, East Village, New York City

    Raymond Mason
    1972
  • The Departure of Fruit and Vegetables from the Heart of Paris, 28 February 1969

    Raymond Mason
    1969–71

Artist as subject

  • Symposium I

    Helen Lessore
    1974–77
Artwork
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