Happy Days Ice Cream

Stan Masters (1922-2005) American
"Happy Days Ice Cream",
Watercolor on paper.
Image: 12.25" x 17"
Frame: 23.5" x 28"

"Happy Days Ice Cream" recalls the simpler days of childhood when youngsters rode their bicycles to the neighborhood ice cream shop. The boy, whose bike is smaller than the other two, is probably tagging along behind an older brother, something many of us with siblings probably remember. Masters builds the narrative through his meticulous observation of details- we see in the picture window the OPEN sign, the “Grade A Inspection” sign and, inside, the soda jerk, all framed within the golden spandrels. Looking closer, in the second story windows above, we see the daylight from the windows in the adjacent wall, which serves only to enhance the realism of this delightful painting.

Framed in a period 19th century walnut frame with the original gilt liner. All materials are acid free; museum glass.
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Stan Masters (1922-2005)
In 1971, after 20 years in commercial art, Stan Masters began his career as a watercolor artist. Following a brief period of experimentation, he adopted the American Realist tradition of Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper and Andrew Wyeth. “I believe that art is, or should be, a form of communication”, he wrote in his artist’s statement. “It ought to be understandable. For that reason, I choose to work in a realistic manner. My subject matter deals with things I know about or places I’ve been”.

Humble beginnings inform his gorgeous watercolors: he grew up in a one room railroad shanty with neither water nor electricity where the tracks passed within six feet of the front porch. Thus, his subject matter depicts small town and rural America. And, of course, the railroad.

In a review of a 1978 solo exhibit a critic proclaimed, “A Stan Masters watercolor is realism at its best. What [Masters] sees is so direct and the way he sees it is so logical that his intent and his achievement are timeless and universal. We find in his paintings unsuspected technical brilliance, always purposely hidden so as not to intrude on the overall effect he wants to create.”

Despite participation in numerous competitions and exhibitions with similar rave reviews, sales throughout his career remained minimal. He died in 2005, all but forgotten. Today, Masters is finally receiving the attention he deserves, and his paintings now hang in two museums and numerous private and corporate collections.