Georgina Masson

Georgina Masson (1912–1980) was a British author[1] and photographer. Born Marion Johnson, and known as Babs to her friends, Georgina Masson is her literary pseudonym.

Johnson was born in Rawalpindi, India, on 23 March 1912.  She was the daughter of an officer stationed in India at the time.[2]  She died in 1980 in London.[3]

Early life

Details of Masson's early life are somewhat sketchy though it is known that she caught the travelling bug early spending time in Europe, Asia and Africa. During the Second World War she worked at the Foreign Office in London and at the Ministry of Information. Her work in the Foreign Office took her to Italy where she continued to live until 1978.[4]

Legacy

Georgina Masson was a photographer and an architectural historian whose interests took in Ancient Rome through to the medieval period in Sicily. Her writings are extensive and her works include studies of gardens and villas and biographies as well as Roman Architecture and later Italian Architecture.[5]

Her work as a photographer, which went hand in hand with her architectural interests, was brought to the fore following her death. Around 5,000 negatives were bequeathed by her to American Academy in Rome. Although the majority of her images are of architecture and gardens and the city of Rome, the collection also includes observations of everyday life.  A selection of her photographic works featured in an exhibition 'Author and Eye' in Rome in April 2003 at the American Academy.[6] The catalogue of the exhibition was entitled 'Georgina Masson 1912-1980'.[7]

Photographs attributed to Georgina Masson can also be found in the Conway Library at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.[8] This collection focuses on Ecclesiastical and Secular Architecture through different historical periods and across continents.

Bibliography

A selection of her published works includes:

  • Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. A Life. (Secker & Warburg, London 1957)[9]
  • Italian Villas and Palaces, 'The World of Art Library' series. (Thames & Hudson, London 1959)[10]
  • Italian Gardens, 'The World of Art Library' series. (Thames & Hudson, London 1961)[11]
  • The Companion Guide to Rome. (Collins, London 1965)[12]
  • Queen Christina. (Secker Warburg, London 1968)[13]
  • Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance. (Secker Warburg, London 1975)[14]

References
  1. Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 112.
  2. Rome, Wanted in (22 April 2003). "The Companion Guide to Georgina Masson". Wanted in Rome. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  3. Georgina Masson 1912-1980 ARTBOOK | D.A.P. 2003 Catalog Charta Books Exhibition Catalogues 9788881584253.
  4. Georgina Masson 1912-1980 ARTBOOK | D.A.P. 2003 Catalog Charta Books Exhibition Catalogues 9788881584253.
  5. Capodiferro, Caracciolo Alessandra; Gendel, Marella; Minchilli, Elizabeth; Vincenti, Carolina. Georgina Masson 1912-1980. ASIN 8881584255.
  6. Artdaily. "Georgina Masson: Author and Eye". artdaily.cc. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  7. Capodiferro, Caracciolo Alessandra and Lauf, Cornelia (2003). Georgina Masson 1912-1980. Edizioni Charta Sri. ISBN 9788881584253.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. Fornasier, Faye (30 June 2020). "Who made the Conway Library?". Digital Media. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  9. Masson, Georgina (1957). Frederick II od Hohenstaufen, A Life. Secker and Warburg. ISBN 9780374952976.
  10. Mason, Georgina (1959). Italian Villas and Palaces. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9780500200452.
  11. Masson, Georgina (1961). Italian Gardens. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9781870673570.
  12. Masson, Georgina (1965). The Companion Guide to Rome. Boydell and Brewer. ISBN 9781900639422.
  13. Masson, Georgina (1968). Queen Christina. Secker and Warburg. ISBN 9780436273513.
  14. Masson, Georgina (1975). Courtesans of the Italian Renaissance. Secker and Warburg. ISBN 9780436273520.


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