Established in 1998 by artists Wolf Kahn (1927–2020) and Emily Mason (1932—2019), the Kahn | Mason Foundation has consistently supported cultural organizations through grants for exhibitions, artist residencies, and community engagement with the arts. The joint expression of their philanthropy will continue as the Foundation expands its mission to serve as the steward of Kahn’s artistic legacy. The newly formed Emily Mason | Alice Trumbull Mason Foundation will spearhead the stewardship of Emily Mason’s artistic legacy alongside that of her mother’s, Alice Trumbull Mason (1904—1971) and embark on a philanthropic program dedicated to advancing opportunities for traditionally underrepresented artists. Together, these two Foundations preserve the vision of three artists—in one family—through exhibitions, publications, research, archives, and philanthropy.
Who We Are
The Foundation is governed by its Board of Directors, who are dedicated to furthering the present and future legacy of their founders’ mission.
Mara Williams, Chair, Brattleboro, VT
Mara Williams has been curating exhibits at Brattleboro Museum & Art Center for thirty years. In addition to Brattleboro, her exhibits have been seen by audiences at Tufts University Art Gallery, Florence Griswold Museum, Carving Studio & Sculpture Center, University of New Hampshire Art Gallery, and a number of galleries in New York City. She holds an A.B. in theatre from Boston College, an MFA in museology from Syracuse University, and has completed doctoral course work and comprehensives in comparative arts at New York University. She has served as Board Chair of the Vermont Arts Council, on the Board of the New England Museum Association, as well as three terms on the Senate Curatorial Advisory Committee for the U.S. Capitol.
David Kapp, Treasurer, Friendship, ME
David Kapp is a painter who lives and works in Friendship, Maine. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally since 1982 and can be found in museums and public collections in the United States and Europe including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; and the Foundation Paribas, Paris, France. He has been a Visiting Artist and Lecturer at Brandeis University, Fordham University, the Vermont Studio Center, Hampshire College, Haverford College, and The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation. Kapp served on the Board of The National Academy of Design from 2008-2016 and was Board Chair from 2012-2015.
Dean Nicyper, Secretary, Pine Plains, NY
Dean Nicyper heads Withers Bergman LLP’s Dispute Resolution Division in the United States. For the past two decades, Mr. Nicyper’s practice has focused on commercial disputes with a significant focus on art disputes. Among his various clients, Mr. Nicyper has successfully represented one of the two largest art auction houses for more than twenty years. He also has represented artists and their families and foundations, art dealers and agents, art collectors and art appraisers in many art-related disputes. He served as the Chair of the Art Law Committee of the Association of the Bar for the City of New York from 2012-2015.
Kim Benzel, Brattleboro, VT
Kim Benzel is Curator in Charge of the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she has worked on numerous exhibitions and related publications since starting her career at the Museum in 1990. Kim holds a Ph.D. in Art History and Archaeology from Columbia University in New York; prior to that she studied at the Kulicke-Stark Academy in New York, where she focused on goldsmithing methods used in antiquity and acquired the technological expertise that now informs so much of her art historical research. Currently, Kim and her colleagues in the Department are working on a full reimagining and renovation of the permanent galleries of ancient Near Eastern art at The Met.
Cecily Kahn, Friendship, ME
Cecily Kahn is an abstract painter with a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. She is a current member of the American Abstract Artists association and a founding member of The Painting Center, an artist-run gallery in New York City. Her work has been exhibited across the country, including at the National Academy Museum, the New Britain Museum, and the Brattleboro Museum. She is the eldest daughter of Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason, and is married to the painter David Kapp.
Melany Kahn, West Chesterfield, NH
Melany Kahn, the younger daughter of Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason, holds an MSW from Boston College and an MFA from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. She has worked as a family mediator in Vermont for many years. She was a founding board member of the New Hampshire Progress Alliance, served as a trustee on the Hilltop Montessori School Board for six years, and ran the capital campaign to relocate the school in 2007. She resides across the river from Brattleboro, Vermont with her family of four children and husband Bo Foard.
Bo Foard, West Chesterfield, NH
Bo Foard is the owner and founder of Foard Panel, Inc. in West Chesterfield, New Hampshire and The Porch Cafe in Brattleboro, Vermont. He is the current President of the Timber Framers Guild and former President of the New England Youth Theatre Board. He is the father of four children and lives in West Chesterfield, New Hampshire.
Contact Us
Ellen McCulloch-Lovell
Interim President
president@kahnmasonfoundation.org
Jennifer Burris
Executive Assistant
admin@kahnmasonfoundation.org
Rights & Reproductions
Artists Rights Society
65 Bleecker Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10012
(212) 420-9160
info@arsny.com