Scottish Rite Journal

by Mark Dreisonstok, 32º, KCCH Managing Editor, Scottish Rite Journal

Renowned Masonic Artist Travis Simpkins Joins Chips from the Quarry

“Br. Travis Simpkins, 33º has been prolific in producing beautiful portraits of Masonic leaders and historical figures,” writes Br. Maynard Edwards, 32º, KCCH in a recent profile of the artist. Ill. Simpkins now brings his artistry in the charcoal medium to the Chips from the Quarry illustrated feature in the Scottish Rite Journal. Chips from the Quarry ties together noteworthy Masons, usually by profession.

“The new Chips from the Quarry page maintains some of the same look it had before,” says Ill. Simpkins, “but with my particular style added to it. The past several months have been a wonderful experience.”

During those months, Br. Travis has delighted fans of the Chips series with illustrations to “Christmas Songs and Masons” and “International Best-selling Authors,” among other topics. He has also presented other works in the Journal, such as the colorful Still Life with Candlestick. The Scottish Rite Journal looks forward to a long and happy association with Ill. Travis Simpkins, 33º, our new artist and “Chip-maker!”

Still Life with Candlestick, after Fernand Leger (1922)

Travis Simpkins

The Goethe Collection at the House of the Temple

The House of the Temple Library in Washington, D.C. contains a highly specialized collection of 514 volumes called the Goethe Collection, donated by Carl H. Claudy, Grand Master, District of Columbia (1943). Most Worshipful Br. Claudy’s father was a native of Germany and had a marvelous personal library dominated by the writings of Germany’s greatest literary figure as well as Freemason Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832). Many of Goethe’s Masonic-influenced works are represented here, such as Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, in which Br. Goethe writes: “Life lies before us, as a huge quarry before the architect...”

This library-within-a-library also contains many rare and beautifully illustrated versions of Br. Goethe’s masterpiece Faust, a dramatic and philosophical exploration of good and evil in which a scholar sells his soul to the devil for greater knowledge. One series of rare color 1800’s theatre settings by Gilbert Lehner for Faust give striking examples of 1800’s theatre scenery—similar to Scottish Rite theatre backdrops of the same period.

In an age before films, nineteenth-century books often contained detailed and masterful illustrations to help readers visualize plays and stories, and this tradition is well preserved in the Goethe Collection treasure trove of rare books and artwork which the House of the Temple Library is proud to call its own. -

Gilbert Lehner’s set design, Cathedral Interior, Goethe’s Faust