The Beekley Collection

The Beekley International Collection of Skiing Art & Literature seeks a new home and seeks your help. Mason Beekley, the founder of ISHA, began buying ski-related collectibles in 1949, and built the collection steadily until his death in 2001. The archive contains more than 2,000 books (the oldest published in 1654); 274 exquisite paintings and sculptures of skiers; 625 posters dating back to the 1880s; magazine covers dating back to the 19th century; unique etchings and lithographs; 2,700 ski pins and 585 postage stamps; and one of the world’s largest libraries of ski books.

Beginning in 2003, the collection was available for public viewing in Mammoth Lakes, California, at the Mammoth Lakes Foundation’s Edison Hall. When the building was converted into a performance space, in 2011, the collection went into secure storage, where it was cataloged and has been accessible to scholars (by appointment) but has not been accessible to the public.

Now, Beekley Foundation President Nat Messina seeks a museum, university, ski resort or other cultural institution capable of housing and exhibiting this unique resource. To see select works from the collection, explore this site; to read John Fry’s account of the collection’s origin, visit bit.ly/BeekleyCollectionFry

To discuss the future of the Beekley Collection or pass along names of interested parties, contact Nat Messina at nmessina@legacyfws.com

W Mason Beekley

W Mason Beekley was passionate about skiing: the act, and the culture and history of the sport. Throughout his life he spent countless hours on slopes all over the world and amassed a collection of just under 10,000 pieces that track skiing's transition from transportation to sport, from pleasure to competition.

Mason was encyclopedic in his desire to document all aspects of skiing in his collection. In fact, he said that he had only two criteria when acquiring new pieces: "There must be a skier in the illustration, and I must like it."