Growing up, Mason Williams knew very little about his great-great-great grandfather Frederick Ballard Williams beyond the fact that he was a painter based in New York. When he was older and pursuing his own fine art education at Laguna College of Art and Design, he became more curious and began to dig a little deeper.
Mason Williams, Laguna Trolley, gouache on board, 8 x 10"
In his research, he found out that Ballard Williams had been connected to the Hudson River School of painters and had traveled to the Grand Canyon in the 1870s where he painted alongside Thomas Moran.
At the time, Mason was working on his master’s thesis which, coincidentally, was about the sublime in 19th-century landscape paintings of the American West and the artists whose work defined the aesthetic—most famously Moran and other Hudson River School artists Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Edwin Church and Thomas Cole.
Frederick Ballard Williams (1871-1956), Untitled Landscape, oil on linen, 18 x 14"
“There was this really cool, full circle feeling happening,” says Mason, who was excited to learn that his ancestor had not only been a painter, but loosely associated with some of the most significant artists of that era.
Little did Mason know he had only scratched the surface. The true spine-tingling moment of synchronicity came this past April when Mason was at the historic Salmagundi Club in New York City for Americans in Paris, an annual exhibition presented by Laguna Beach gallery Vanessa Rothe Fine Art.
While in school, Mason would stop into the gallery frequently and, in 2022, Vanessa Rothe asked him to be part of the exhibition in which he would share wall space with big names in contemporary realism like Michael Carson, Quang Ho, Adrienne Stein, Vincent Xeus and Jeremy Lipking.
Mason Williams, Blue Fish Cove, oil on linen, 9 x 12"
“The whole time I have been with Vanessa it’s been like ‘pinch me—is this real?’ Being able to go to New York and show my work alongside Casey Childs, Suchitra Bhosle and Jesse Powell…it was an awesome feeling,” says Mason. “Like myTh training was complete and I was beginning my career as a professional artist.”
While soaking in the excitement of the show, Mason and his fiancé Kelley Mogilka, also an artist, wandered the hallowed halls of the Salmagundi Club, taking in the fine art on the walls and the rich, historical ambience of the sprawling Fifth Avenue brownstone.
Exploring, they ascended an ornate staircase that led to the club’s library where they were greeted by its chairman, Alex Katlan.
Mason Williams, Dream of Paris, oil on linen, 12 x 16"
After introducing themselves, they got to talking and Kelley mentioned Mason’s ancestor’s connection to Thomas Moran, who was one of the Salmagundi Club’s founding members in 1871, along with William Merritt Chase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Emil Carlsen, N.C. Wyeth, Childe Hassam and Winston Churchill.
“When we told him his name was Frederick Ballard Williams, Katlan said he owned a piece of his that he obtained at auction," Mason recounts. "Then he called my great-great-great grandfather the ‘American Watteau.’ We were just freaking out. “To meet someone who knew of him and even owned a painting of his was like finding a needle in the haystack. It was crazy to hear because I had thought he was a nobody. I knew he was associated with the Hudson River School but I didn’t think he had much significance other than that.”
Finding that one needle was like finding the key to a whole treasure trove of information. Katlan brought Mason to meet curator and archivist Bill Indursky, who believed that Frederick Ballard Williams might have actually been a member of the club.
Indursky said he would see what he could unearth in the club’s records.
Frederick Ballard Williams (1871-1956), A Glade By The Sea, 1908. Oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of William T. Evans.
When Mason and Kelley returned the following day, they were ushered into a staff-only room where he was told Norman Rockwell once slept that had since been converted into an storage space. “I couldn’t believe I was sitting in the same chair Norman Rockwell once did,” he says.
It got even more exciting when Indursky pulled out a file with the name Frederick Ballard Williams written on the front.
“It was this moment of being pummeled by exciting information,” Mason says. “I had zero expectations of him being connected to the club at all so finding out was a complete surprise. And the coincidences! We had chills for sure.”
The file contained documentation that Ballard Williams has work in many prominent museums including The Met, Smithsonian, Chicago Art Institute and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Mason at the Salmagundi Club with the portrait of ancestor Frederick Ballard Williams
Then he came across a tattered, brown piece of paper dated 1898. It was Ballard Williams’ original, hand-written and signed application for Salmagundi Club membership. He was 28 years old—the same age Mason is now.
Not only was Ballard Williams a member of the club, but the file revealed he also served as president from 1914 to 1919.
Mason discovered other new bits of information. Ballard Williams was born in Brooklyn in 1871 and had two sons, Duncan and Frederick Ballard Williams II. He studied with painter Charles Yardley. He liked to golf. He was also one of the founders of the American Artists Professional League.
There was one more surprise in store for Mason. After the exhibition reception dinner, everyone crowded into the storage room and Indursky unveiled a portrait of Ballard Williams painted by his contemporary and fellow club member Albert Rosenthal around 1915. Mason’s journey of discovery has lent new meaning to the artwork he has always admired and has affected the way he views the work of his ancestor, who painted predominantly Victorian women and Upstate New York landscapes. It also deepened his understanding of his own work.
Photo of Frederick Ballard Williams at his easel. Smithsonian American Art Museum.
“I came across a Thomas Moran painting of the Grand Canyon not too long ago and I think it was painted during that trip,” Mason says. “When I saw it, I felt connected to it in a much more personal way.
“I’ve always loved painting the desert so to know my great-great-great grandfather painted it kind of validates what I’m doing in this kinetic way,” he continues. “I feel like I have a connection to it through my blood and it makes me it feel like I’m in the right place and doing the right thing—that I’m on the right path. It gave me a sense of belonging—having family members that were doing what I’m doing without being able to talk to him…it’s been a really cool meeting point of ancestors.” It has also helped him understand where his own heart lies as a painter—very much with plein air landscapes and seascapes in the style of the California and French impressionists.
Frederick Ballard Williams (1871-1956), Ascutney Mountain, oil on linen, 25 x 30"
“It’s like a sport trying to capture the fleeting light of a moving thunderhead or cumulus cloud,” says Mason. “I was never good at sports but when I started painting in plein air it felt like this competitive rush to get down what you’re looking at before it fades. It made me feel full in a way nothing else had.”
Before Mason left New York City, he basically had a fully-written letter of recommendation for membership in the club. When he received the official letter of acceptance—at the same age his ancestor was—it brought back the wave of excitement he had felt when the past was cracked open at the club.
Mason Williams, Satellites, oil on linen, 16 x 20"
One other thing Mason learned from the file was that his great-great-great grandfather had donated $5,000 to the Salmagundi Club to fund an award in his name. “They still give out that award and the endowment has grown quite a bit since,” says Mason. “Who knows? Maybe one day I can win the Frederick Ballard Williams Award and continue the legacy.”
Mason Williams recently received the Gold Medal for Landscape in the 112th California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition for Satellites, featured here. —
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