Preferred Citation
Conditions Governing Access
Processing History
Arrangement
Biographical Note
Scope and Contents
Conditions Governing Use
Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Elizabeth Mason Papers
Creator:
Mason, Elizabeth
Identifier/Call Number: MS.205
Physical Description:
3 Linear Feet
(6 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1893-1953
Abstract: Elizabeth Mason (1880-1953) was a sculptor, writer, jewelry maker, and Santa Barbara historian. At the Southwest Museum, Mason
created 28 dioramas of Native American life which adorned the Museum's entrance hall and Poole Wing. This collection consists
of correspondence, sketches, research notes, transcriptions of published material, manuscripts, and personal documents collected
or created by Elizabeth Mason. The material in this collection was created between 1893 to 1953.
Language of Material:
English
.
Preferred Citation
Elizabeth Mason Papers, 1893-1953, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.205; [folder number] [folder
title][date].
Conditions Governing Access
Processing History
Inventory and initial processing completed by Glenna Schroeder, circa 1977-1981. Biographical note created by Maritxu de Alaiza,
2012 April 12. Finding aid completed by Anna Liza Posas, 2013. Final processing of collection and publication of finding aid
made possible by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Series 1: Southwest Museum diorama correspondence, notes, and sketches, circa 1925-1942
- Series 2: Personal papers, 1893-1953
- Series 3: Manuscripts by Mason, circa 1920s to 1953
- Series 4: Transcriptions or manuscripts by other authors, circa 1920s to 1953
- Series 5: Photographs, circa 1914-1945
Biographical Note
Elizabeth Mason (1880 June 8 - 1953 June 13) was born in Jacksonville, Illinois. After Mason's birth, her family spent a year
in Santa Barbara, California due to her mother's poor health before moving to Denver, Colorado. In 1921, the family returned
to Santa Barbara.
Mason studied at both the New York School of Design and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. After her schooling she
worked in Colorado overseeing the Craftwood Shops in Manitou and the Mahon Jewelry Store in Colorado Springs. She also studied
automobile mechanics during World War I.
Following the war she was sent to Fitzsimmons General Hospital in Denver where she oversaw the craft shop and worked as a
vocational therapist for two years.
At one point she moved back to Santa Barbara where she worked as an educator for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal
Art Project; an office worker at the Santa Barbara College Hospital; and curator of the Santa Barbara Historical Society.
She also became known as a historian of the Santa Barbara area.
Mason was a writer of both fiction and non-fiction works. She is credited for writing the essay "Origin and History of Names
of the Streets in the City of Santa Barbara, California."
Circa 1925, Mason was hired to create dioramas for the Southwest Museum's entrance tunnel and the Poole Wing. Of the 37 dioramas
that were on permanent display in the Museum, 28 were created by Mason. The other dioramas, all created before Mason's tenure,
were done by Adelaide Chamberlain, Assistant Curator in Archaeology and Ethnology, and Margaret Rose Tew, who was hired as
the Museum's sculptor.
Per the 1925 Southwest Museum Annual Report, "it was deemed advisable, in the interests of economy, to negotiate for additional
groups on the contract basis." Therefore Mason was eventually hired to replace Tew and complete the work on the dioramas for
the price of $175 each.
The first of Mason's dioramas was completed in 1929 and the final one was finished in 1942. To render accurate scenes for
her dioramas, Mason consulted exhaustively with John Peabody Harrington, an ethnographer and linguist at the Southwest Museum,
and Mark Raymond Harrington (no relation to J.P. Harrington), the Museum's curator.
John Peabody Harrington went so far as to pose, dressed in a grass skirt, for photographs in various positions, such as lunging
with a spear. Some of the background paintings Mason used in her dioramas are also based on the photographs of Walter McClintock,
noted ethnologist and photographer of the Blackfoot.
In addition to the Southwest Museum, Mason created works for the National Park Service and the Santa Barbara Historical Society.
Her sculptures and bronze plaques can also be found in other parts of California such as the Los Angeles Harbor Breakwater,
John C. Fremont Marker, Old Mission Dam in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and Old Grist Mill, which was dedicated by the
Daughters of the American Colonists. Mason's works also includes a series of Native American athletic figures that were displayed
at the Olympic Art show in Los Angeles in 1932.
Mason died in Santa Barbara on 1953 June 13. Her enduring affection for the Southwest Museum is shown in the fact that she
bequeathed most of her estate to the Southwest Museum.
References:
Elizabeth Mason (Obituary). (1953).
The Masterkey, 27(3). 134-136.
Schroeder, G. R. (1980). Thirty-seven little dioramas and how they grew.
The Masterkey, 54(1). 5-16.
Southwest Museum Annual Report. (1925). p.25.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of correspondence, sketches, research notes, transcriptions of published material, manuscripts and
personal documents collected or created by Elizabeth Mason. Mason's transcriptions are primarily published works of other
authors. These materials consist of typed pages bound together and sometimes include Mason's handwritten notes in the margins.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Indians of North America -- Social life and customs
Dioramas
Manuscripts
Transcripts
Indians of North America -- Study and teaching
Scrapbooks
California -- Description and travel
California -- History
Pencil sketches
Correspondence
Santa Barbara (Calif.)
Clippings
Juana Marie
Southwest Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Harrington, John Peabody