Alumni donate George Masa Collection to Hunter Library
For decades, Alice and Bill Hart have been avid researchers and collectors of the photography of Japanese American photographer George Masa. Masa’s iconic photography of the Southern Appalachians, which began after he arrived in Asheville in 1915 and ended with his death in 1933, is regarded as some of the best of this important era.
Hunter Library’s Special and Digital Collections received a donation from alums William “Bill” Hart, Jr., Class of 1962, and Alice Huff Hart, Class of 1961. For decades, Alice and Bill have been avid researchers and collectors of the photography of Japanese American photographer George Masa. Masa’s iconic photography of the Southern Appalachians, which began after he arrived in Asheville in 1915 and ended with his death in 1933, is regarded as some of the best of this important era.
Bill and Alice’s impressive Masa collection includes original photographic prints, a variety of period publications featuring Masa’s work, and Bill and Alice’s compiled research on Masa. Much of this research culminated in Bill’s chapter on Masa, “George Masa: The Best Mountaineer,” in "May We All Remember Well: A Journal of the History & Culture of Western North Carolina, Volume 1" (Robert S. Brunk, 1997). Bill’s insightful and detailed chapter has long been regarded as the first proper biography of George Masa, exploring the life and work of the elusive and mysterious photographer.
The Hart Masa Collection will join Hunter Library’s existing George Masa Collection, enabling the library to offer a great depth of resources on the life and work of George Masa and his contributions to Southern Appalachian photography, the Appalachian Trail and the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Bill and Alice donated the collection to Hunter Library in honor of Janet McCue, author and retired librarian, and George Frizzell, author and retired WCU Special Collections librarian, in recognition of Bill and Alice Hart’s esteem.
