Emily Mason
from Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast Hosted by Lissa Weinmann
This episode of the Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast was written and produced by Lissa Weinmann. Commentators were Steven Rose and Melany Kahn. Archival footage of the voice of Emily Mason was provided by the Emily Mason and Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation. Podcast editors are Matt Hall and Alec Pombriant. Sound design is by Dave Snyder, and mastering was done by Guilford Sound. Music is from Marlboro, Vermont, based Red Heart the Ticker, that's Ty Gibbons and Robin MacArthur, from their album “Tigers of the New England Forest”. Vermont folk musician Margaret MacArthur's “Mother in the Graveyard” was performed with permission by Anna and Elizabeth. Brattleboro Words Trail theme music is by Ty Gibbons. Special thanks to Brattleboro Community Television for all their help. MORGAN ENGLISH POEM: Morgan English reading her poem: "Emily, Or to Light, Once Again.' Produced by Lissa Weinmann at BCTV for Brattleboro Words Trail Podcast. PHOTO: Caption: Emily Mason by Phong Bui, ca.1987. Our theme music is by Ty Gibbons.Intro voice is Donna Blackney. Thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Vermont Arts Council and the hundreds of volunteers and community members who support this work.
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What this episode covers
This episode explores the life and work of abstract painter Emily Mason, who, in the wake of her death in 2019, publication of a first 2025 monograph and first Paris exhibition, is experiencing a huge surge of interest internationally and has been labeled an 'American genius' by The New Yorker magazine. The 38-minute piece is broken down into sections detailed below featuring interviews with Mason’s daughter Melany Kahn and Steven Rose, Mason’s former studio manager and current executive director of the Emily Mason and Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation, and the voice of Emily Mason herself thanks to various archived tapes previously unavailable to the public. The discussion covers Mason's artistic journey from the 1950s until her death, her deep connection to both New York City and Brattleboro, Vermont, and her significant but under recognized contributions to abstract expressionism. Key topics include her approach to her work where she struggled to ‘get herself out of the way,’ her relationship to her namesake, poet Emily Dickinson, the 2025 publication of her comprehensive monograph "Emily Mason: Unknown to Possibility" by Rizzoli, her first Paris exhibition at Almine Rech Gallery, and her philanthropic legacy in Brattleboro including support for the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC). The episode also delves into her family background, including her relationship to her mother, Alice Trumbull Mason (also an abstract painter), and the family’s struggles with alcoholism and addiction, her long marriage to painter Wolf Kahn, her 30-year teaching career at Hunter College, and her printmaking work. The podcast concludes with details about her death and burial at her Vermont farm and her daughter’s reading of Dickinson’s poem "Hope is the Thing with Feathers." See time stamps for guide through sections: Introduction (0-4:30) “American Genius” Mason defies categorization as interest in her work surges internationally / deep bonds to Brattleboro and New York City Section One: (4:30) Mason’s Artistic Methods and Practice Section Two (13:00) Mason’s Life, Work and Relationships in Brattleboro Section Three: (20:10) Mason’s Early Life, Education, Teaching and Family Life Section Four (29:00) Mason’s Dedication to Mother Alice Trumbull Mason’s Legacy Section Five (31:40) Mason’s End of Life and Legacy
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