Dora Mason papers

Collection

Identifier: IWA0221

Staff Only
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Scope and Contents

The Dora Mason papers date from 1915 to 1994 and measure 110 linear inches. The papers are arranged in two series: Personal and Professional. The Personal series (1915-1994 and undated) contains Dora Mason's book Adventures in Making Faces; an anonymous work entitled "From an Interesting Place As Lived by Dora Mason"; the transcript of an interview with Mason at the age of ninety-five; a draft of her obituary written before her death; a scrapbook containing photographs and newspaper clippings from 1915 to 1994; two travel logs from some of her numerous trips, an autobiographical work entitled "Union Pacific Ties"; and several photographs mainly dating from her ninetieth birthday party in 1986. The Professional series (1935-1940, 1969, 1986, 2012 and undated) is comprised of several letters referring to Mason's many speaking engagements and exhibitions, several drafts and samples of her stories and poems, and her art portfolio which contains photographs of her many sculptures. Additional materials include a 2012 documentary film about Mason's life and career, featuring a 1992 interview with Mason on her creation of the Nile Kinnick bust. Also included is an interview of Margaret Moeller Nelson, a sculpture model Mason used when Nelson was a teenager in 1952. The documentary film was created by Iowa City filmmaker Susan Wakefield, who conducted multiple interviews and included research material from the Iowa Women's Archives. Digital files include photographs, documents, and extended video footage used in the making of the documentary, and a research notebook compiled by Wakefield that includes guides to the digital materials, as well as transcripts and newspaper clippings on the life of Dora Mason.

Dates

Creation: 1915-2017

Creator

Mason, Dora, 1896-1999 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

The papers are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright held by the donor has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

However, copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owner. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user. Users must properly acknowledge the Iowa Women’s Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, as the source of the material. For further information, visit https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/services/rights/

Biographical / Historical

Dora Eaton Mason, sculptor and art teacher, was born in Wyoming in 1896 to Henry H. Eaton and Sally Thurloway Eaton. In 1919 Eaton married Edward Files Mason, and gave birth to son Edward Eaton Mason a year later.

In 1929 Edward F. Mason became a professor of journalism at the University of Iowa. Dora Mason received her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Idaho in 1918, and in 1939 earned her Master of Arts degree in sculpture from the University of Iowa. Her thesis sculpture, 'Old Amana', was a life-sized bust of octogenarian Mary Eichacher, displayed at the Amana Heritage Museum. In addition, Mason trained in pottery at Mills College in southern California.

She was a prolific lecturer who traveled around the country and was active as a volunteer in the Iowa City area teaching art and art appreciation. Dora E. Mason's sculptures have been exhibited and have won awards throughout the United States and Canada. Her works include a bust of Nile Kinnick--the only life portrait of Kinnick, sculpted during his senior year at the University of Iowa. Son Edward Eaton Mason became a professor of Surgery at the University of Iowa.