“ His art is great in virtue of the solemn pathos which pervades it, of the dignity and beauty in rustic life which it reveals, of its keen perception of noble form and graceful motion, and of rich effects of colour and subdued light. ”

“ MASON, GEORGE HEMMING (1818–1872) , English painter, was born at Wetley Abbey, the eldest son of a Staffordshire county gentleman. He was educated at King Edward’s School, Birmingham, and studied for the medical profession for five years under Dr Watt of that city. But all his thoughts being given to art, he abandoned medicine in 1844 and travelled for a time on the Continent, finally settling in Rome, where he remained for some years and sought to make a living as an artist. ”