Judith Mason: A Prospect of Icons, Inscribed 2009

"Judith Mason: A Prospect of Icons." This is the substantial monograph and exhibition catalogue published to accompany Judith Mason’s major retrospective exhibition, which opened at the Standard Bank Gallery in October 2008 to commemorate her 70th birthday.

Judith Mason (1938–2016) is widely regarded as one of South Africa’s most important, poetically complex, and politically resonant artists. Her work famously bridged the gap between intense spirituality, mythology, and the brutal political realities of Apartheid-era South Africa (most notably exemplified by her famous piece The Blue Dress at the Constitutional Court).

The Inscription: A Poignant Connection

On the front free end paper is a handwritten dedication "For Carolyn, lonely memories, love, Judith 2008" 

The recipient, Carolyn Morrison, is a well-known South African artist and veteran art educator who taught for over four decades.  Mason was Morrisons lecturer at Wits University.

The phrasing "lonely memories" inscribed by Mason in 2008 carries a poignant, bittersweet weight. (I’m sure it’s not “lovely”). Judith Mason’s work throughout her life was deeply intertwined with memory, grief, and the preservation of histories that people often preferred to forget. For a landmark 70th-birthday retrospective—a time when an artist is forced to look back at an entire lifetime of creative, political, and personal struggle—sharing "lonely memories" with a fellow female artist speaks volumes about the quiet solidarity, shared decades, and deep personal bond between them.

Some surface wear; more so on the back.
235mm x 305mm x 15mm

R1,500