Joseph Mason (artist)

[3][4][5] Audubon later wrote in a letter to his wife that Mason had a "fine" talent for painting and "draws flowers better than any man probably in America, thou knowest I do not flatter young artists much, I never said this to him, but I think so".

[2]: 122  Audubon hired Mason as his assistant to paint the floral backgrounds of his bird pictures as they traveled south down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans.

[4] A good shot, Mason also undertook other expedition duties, shooting many specimen birds as well as rowing the boat and ferrying supplies.

[2]: 129  A former curator of the National Gallery of Art considers that Mason's backgrounds significantly contribute to the scientific worth of Audubon's project because of how they help to establish scale, proportion, and environment.

Ruthven joined forces with other Cincinnati civic leaders to create a bronze relief marker memorializing Mason's contribution to the monumental Birds of America; it was dedicated in 2013.