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Point Park University will open the new Lawrence Hall Gallery on June 10, 2009, with its premiere exhibit of the work of the renowned classical-style artist Frank Herbert Mason. The Lawrence Hall Gallery is located in the newly renovated lobby adjacent to the Dance Complex.

Jack Tomayko, a member of the Point Park University Board of Trustees and Conservatory of Performing Arts Advisory Board member, has played an integral role in the development of the Lawrence Hall Gallery. An avid art collector, Tomayko has a long-standing relationship with artist and activist Frank Herbert Mason. Known for his life-long fight for art preservation as well as his legendary paintings of landscapes, figures, still life, and religious subjects, Mason's pieces represent the first full exhibition on display in the Lawrence Hall Gallery.

Mason is not the first artist Tomayko has worked with on behalf of Point Park University. "Freedom Bound," an almost life-size bronze sculpture by artist Paige Bradley, was donated by Tomayko to the University and installed in what has become the Lawrence Hall Gallery in 2008. The sculpture has served as the focus of the renovated lobby and is meant to reflect the building's inherent energy.

At the age of 16, Frank Herbert Mason received a scholarship to attend the Art Students League of New York, where he was mentored by the well-known classicist Frank Vincent Dumond. Mason would eventually succeed Dumond as fine arts instructor at the Art Students League. He later began working with Jacques Maroger, an expert in lost painting techniques from the 17th and 18th centuries. Mason began exploration of the painting techniques of the Old Masters, which had a clear and profound influence on his own work. After some time, Mason moved to Europe where he spent several years painting. There he received portrait commissions from patrons such as Prince Giacchino Colonna of Venice. Only recently retired from teaching, throughout 57 years at the Art Students League and in Vermont summer landscape painting classes, Mason continued to teach his students in the time-honored methods for which he became famous.

The Lawrence Hall Gallery will display Frank Herbert Mason's oil paintings through spring 2010. The gallery is located at Wood Street and Boulevard of the Allies and is open to the public during specified hours. The paintings are available for sale.


Lawrence Hall Gallery Hours:
Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.

For more information:
About the gallery:
412.392.8008
About purchasing a painting: 412.481.1566
About the artist:www.frankmason.org