An Overview of the History of Matting

1946   Mel Mathewson  War Memorial Opera House  India Ink Wash with Opaque White,  painted in San Francisco, California Mathewson, an illustrator, was commissioned to paint the newly completed Opera House for the September 1946 issue of San Francisco Life Magazine. This was a period of momentous changes.  The Nuclear Age began August 6, 1945 when the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.  The first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly occurred in 1946.  The Polaroid camera was invented in 1947.  In 1948 Mahatma Ghandi was assassinated,  long-playing records ( “LP’s” ) were invented and microwave cooking developed.  Harry S. Truman was President ( 1945 to 1953 ) and Queen Elizabeth II of England was crowned.  World changes not withstanding,  California framing styles were slightly antiquated.  The turn-of-the-century styles inspired by James McNeill Whistler continued to be extremely popular! The mat is a modern interpretation combining elements from earlier French and English examples.  The frame is an adaptation of a reeded “Whistler” profile.

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