"The Three Great Lights of Masonry" is an original oil painting commissioned by the Grand Lodge A.F.&A.M. of Minnesota, to celebrate its Sesquicentennial (150th) Anniversary.

If you could imagine one universal image of Masonry, what would it be? This question confronted the Grand Lodge of Minnesota and its 150th Anniversary Committee as they looked for a special way to celebrate their Sesquicentennial in 2003. What could be given to the constituent Lodges as an anniversary gift that would inspire special pride and remind them of our enduring Masonic values?

After much thought, it was decided that a picture could do this but not just any picture, rather an image captured for all time in an original oil painting. But who would do the picture and what would it show? The answer to the first part of this question came in the name of one of most widely known Masonic artists of our time, Bro. Robert H. White, 32°, of Winchester, Virginia. Bro. White has painted the very much-admired "Time for Lodge" (1989) and "Tools of the Craft" (1997), both paintings commissioned by the Supreme Council, S.J. These paintings now hang in the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C. More recently, Bro. White completed the beautiful oil paintings which illustrate Vested in Glory, The Regalia of the Scottish Rite by Ill. Jim Tresner, 33°, G.C.. These works now form the Hall of Scottish Rite Regalia in the House of the Temple. Bro. White's late Flemish Romantic style, with its special use of shadow and light, has the flavor of old-world painting, and his finely detailed artistry attracts the eye of even a casual observer.

As co-chairman of the 150th Anniversary Committee, I suggested that the image of our proposed painting be the universal symbol of Freemasonry, its altar at the center of every Lodge and, near it, the Three Great Lights of Masonry. At this altar, every Candidate is brought from darkness to light and beholds for the first time the greatest symbols of our Craft-the Volume of Sacred Law and the Square and Compasses. What more universal symbols are there in Masonry? In his mind's eye, every Mason can see that first image at the start of his Masonic journey. Logically, the proposed painting was titled "The Three Great Lights of Masonry."

Using the altar of my home Lodge, Traverse Lodge No.189 at Wheaton, Minnesota, I took a series of photographs looking from behind the altar towards the East. Although Traverse Lodge, like many Lodges, does not have a mosaic pavement or checkered floor of dark and light tiles, this symbolic detail was added to the painting. Likewise, in my home Lodge, as with so many others, the Three Great Lights are illuminated by three flickering electric bulbs on a single candelabra, not by candles on separate pedestals. The image of these Lesser Lights is also universal to all Masons, no matter how they are represented, so they, too, are in the painting.

Similarly, Bro. White added some details from his personal knowledge. In comments about the work, he notes: "The alcove in the painting is based on a mural in the East of Hiram Lodge No. 21 in Winchester, Virginia, just four city block from my home. Ill. Harry A. Fadley, 33°, a Past Master of Hiram Lodge, invited me to see the impressive original murals which decorate his Lodge. I thought incorporating a portion of them as the background of the painting emphasized the Three Great Lights in the foreground."

The 150th Anniversary Committee contacted Bro. White who accepted a commission to complete the proposed painting within a year. In four months, using the color photos of the Traverse Lodge as his resource, Bro. White completed a half-size pen-and-ink sketch. Refinements of this design included one uniquely Minnesota touch. In addition to the mounted charter found in many Lodges, Bro. White added a framed "Minnesota Masonic Home" official membership certificate. These certificates were sold in 1917 to finance the purchase of our first Bloomington Minnesota nursing facility. This certificate appears on the right-hand side of the painting, the framed Lodge charter appearing on the left wall.

Those familiar with Masonic symbolism will notice that the Volume of Sacred Law is open to the book of Ecclesiastes, the Scripture reference of the Third Degree, Ecclesiastes 12:1-7. The flag of the United States, found in every well-governed American Lodge, is on the dais as are the rough and perfect ashlars. The letter "G" appears behind the Master's chair, as it must be in every Lodge. Above it, a star-decked canopy relates to the word loga, the Sanskrit word for lodge, suggesting that the Lodge is a representation of the world stretching from South to North and East to West under the canopy of heaven. In the foreground of the painting, a blue ribbon was added to mask the fact that the Bible is open symbolically, not realistically. Ecclesiastes Chapter 1, for title identification, is on the left, and Chapter 12 of Ecclesiastes, with the Square and Compasses resting on it, is on the right. Chapter 12 is, of course, a key Scripture reading for the Master Mason's Degree.

The Grand Lodge of Minnesota was delighted to accept this painting in January 2002. Its central image, immediately recognizable to all Masons, reminds us that the Three Great Lights are the foundation of our conduct. Similarly, the Volume of Sacred Law is the supreme rule and guide of our faith. Also, the Square reminds us to govern our actions by the square of virtue, and the Compasses keep us morally in due bounds with all humankind.

A final touch was added in the making of the limited edition prints of this painting by identifying the Grand Masters of the Sesquicentennial Anniversary and allowing room for their signatures: M.W. Rev. Terry L. Tilton, Grand Master for 2002-2003, and M.W. Neil E. Neddermeyer, Grand Master for 2003-2004.

Numbered, artist-signed, and framed prints of the original painting will be given to every Lodge in Minnesota as we come up to 2003, our 150th anniversary year. Others may also receive the prints for their own use or as gifts. Artist-signed and numbered prints (24" x 36") cost $100 or, if framed and matted, $225. A three-quarter-size print (18" x 24"), unsigned by the artist is also available for $75 or, framed and matted, for $150. Checks (domestic only) should be made out to: The Grand Lodge of Minnesota, 200 East Plato Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55107. All prints will be shipped within four weeks of receiving the order.

Photo above of M.W. Rev. Terry L. Tilton, Grand Master: ©LeMar Photography

Terry L. Tilton
was elected Grand Master of Masons of Minnesota on April 13, 2002. He will preside over the opening of the 150th Anniversary of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota, which will begin on February 15, 2003, when Minnesota will also host the start of the North American Conference of Grand Masters at Minneapolis. The Reverend Tilton is an ordained United Methodist minister serving under appointment at Breckenridge, Minnesota. In 1993, he was appointed the first Education Officer of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota and has been an active member of the York Rite as well as many Appendant Masonic Bodies. He was raised a Master Mason in 1977 and comes from a family with a long Masonic history going back to Dr. James E. Tilton, first Surgeon General of the United States in 1803. He and his wife, Cheryl, have two children, Evan and Katherine, both in elementary school.