Shirley Ardell Mason Watercolor Abstract Painting

Item Details

Shirley Ardell Mason (Minnesota; 1923 – 1998)
Untitled, mid-late 20th century
Watercolor painting on paper
Unsigned

An abstract watercolor painting on paper by art teacher and artist Shirley Ardell Mason (Minnesota; 1923 – 1998), also known by the pseudonym “Sybil”. This watercolor features a blurred composition, comprised of almost erratic, inchoate brushstrokes and partially translucent pigments. This work is unsigned, likely because it was created by one of the artist’s alternate-self. The piece is presented behind glass, beneath white matting and housed in a black composite frame.

Shirley Ardell Mason is primarily known for suffering one of the most extreme psychiatric cases of dissociative identity disorder in history, fragmenting herself into sixteen different personalities. Even though she struggled with this condition for most of her life, she became an art teacher and was able to create an array of paintings all of them executed by various dissociated personalities. This work was presumably executed by one of her alternate-self, due to the absence of the artist’s signature. Mason did not sign the works that she would not be able to recognize as a creation of her own-self. Her distinct life story was portrayed in the 1973 book “Sybil, The True Story of a Woman Possessed by 16 Separate Personalities” by Flora Rheta Schreiber, which inspired a 1978 film adaptation starred by actress Sally Field.

Condition

- minor scratches and wear throughout finish of frame; negligible toning, minor creases and negligible warping throughout paper.

Dimensions

- measures the frame; sight size 32" W x 19.25" H.

Item #

19DCC100-660