It Had to Be You
My brief time spent in Austin was much more productive than I had envisioned when setting out on my journey. Over the course of eleven days, I had transcribed Moses’ 1931 diary and completed the Santa Fe Scottish Rite photo shoot for an upcoming publication (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018). In Austin, I was simply completing one task, research that was spontaneous and had no specific direction, timeline, or desired outcome. I believed that my frantic pace would slow down at this point and I could simply enjoy the moment, savoring each document and painting that I encountered. I could not have been more wrong and my pace would increase to warp speed. In Austin, my research became divided into three specific projects: the model theatre, the Austin Scottish Rite, and the John Rothgeb Papers. Had I known what I was to encounter, I would have planned at least a week so that I could enjoy other aspects of the city beyond the archives.
I’ll start with the main purpose of my trip to the Harry Ransom Center, a theatre model attributed to the Sosman & Landis studio. I had read an online article about the conservation of this collection, describing the contents in its entirety, complete with 112 Masonic designs for the Scottish Rite theatres from approximately 1900.
A paper conservation intern, Rémy Dreyfuss, was the one to begin the preservation of these Masonic designs during 2014. Perfect timing, I thought, as these images would not have been available online before 2014, prompting the incentive for this leg of my trip, a desire to see each painting on site. Like Dreyfuss, I had processed the Great Western Stage Equipment Company collection and the Holak collection for the University of Minnesota Performing Arts archives as an undergraduate student, evaluating the condition of each item and creating a corresponding database to organize the items, descriptive data, and other imagery. The link to the article on the conservation of Sosman & Landis collection is: designdesignshttps://blog.hrc.utexas.edu/2014/12/11/masonic-theater-conservation/
Regardless of what the online article stated, the description of Moses’ model in his diary was fresh in my mind. In 1931 Moses took a new approach to the lack of studio work. He decided to be proactive and create a demand for his painting services again. Moses was going to create the most complete model to date that depicted the scenery for Blue Lodge, York Rite, Scottish Rite, and Shrine. He noted that his designs would be 20” tall by 28” wide, complete with a specialty lighting system to showcase the scenic effects in the model. Moses referred to his creation as “the Chicago model” and it was intended to be marketed by Perry “Lester” Landis, son of Sosman & Landis founder Abraham “Perry” Landis. During August of that year, Moses wrote, “I hope to be able to finish it and have it ready for business when the time comes if Landis can only close on some of the jobs he is after.”
At the age of 75, Moses was already digging into his savings account for daily expenses due to the lack of work, commenting that solely working on models was no way to make a living. He knew that there was no safety net once his savings account ran out and needed to secure some painting work. Moses desperately hoped that Landis would not get cold feet and cease his funding of the entire model. Furthermore, he desperately hoped that he would be given the eventual painting work IF the Scottish Rite Valleys selected his designs.
At this point in his life, Moses was primarily hired for design work, creating small-scale models for painted scenes used at a variety of theatrical venues. Unfortunately, none of the studio owners would promise Moses any of the resulting painting work of his designs. The studios frequently gave the work to younger and cheaper artists. It was really a sad state of affairs for Moses and his writing reveals his sense of betrayal and desperation. After working non-stop for many years to actively secure profits for studio shareholders, they abandoned him in his time of need. There was no sense of obligation to include an aged scenic artist on their projects, especially one who had slowed down his pace and had a harder time crawling around on the floor.
Moses was desperate for work and realized that he had to go out and “hustle up some work” – one of his common phrases throughout his memoirs. In a sense, he was starting his career all over again, trying to find a special niche in the painting world. At his lowest point, Moses decided to create a new and innovative theatre model. At this time, Volland Studios, in St. Louis, Missouri, was replacing Sosman & Landis Studio as the leading manufacturer of Masonic scenery. Even Becker Bros. Studio of Chicago appeared to attain more Masonic work. Landis and his scenic department were frantic to regain their position as leaders in Masonic scenery production.
By November 1931, Moses had completed his model for Landis and organized a premiere viewing at the Pasadena Scottish Rite. He intended to show off his model before leaving for Chicago and get the reaction of the local Masons. By 1925, Moses had become a Mason himself in California. Interestingly, he selected Pasadena in the Southern Jurisdiction to complete his Scottish Rite degree work, instead of Chicago in the Northern Jurisdiction. His extremely close friendships with various Scottish Rite executives in the Valley of Pasadena seemed an ideal fit, plus the painted scenery business in Los Angeles continued to thrive despite the Great Depression.
It was 2:00 PM on Friday, November 20, when Moses brought his model down to the Pasadena Scottish Rite Temple. He wrote, “They were well pleased with the job and I hope to be able to get the work when they are ready for it. A few little criticisms with the model on some sets.” The second statement made me chuckle and think, “Everyone always has an opinion on how to improve your painting – especially if they don’t paint themselves!” After the premier, Moses spent the next ten days saying farewell to friends, including many of the regions finest artists, such as Edgar Payne. By November 30, Moses began to pack up his personal belongings, art supplies and his model, writing, “Started to pack today and it is going to be a big job and I will have plenty of excess to pay on the two trunks.” These were the two trunks containing his Chicago electric theatre model. On December 2, Moses departed for Chicago.
In the back room at the archives in Austin, I patiently waited for the first of two massive trunks to be opened. The first only held the model theatre, as all other contents were now carefully divided into archival boxes and stored elsewhere. Then the second trunk was opened and I looked inside with amazement. There were dozens of designs, each hanging from a miniature wooden batten and packed in like sardines.
I Looked at the lid of the trunk and noticed a manufacturer’s label. The handwritten date on it said “December 13, 1931.” Furthermore, the trunk was manufactured in Los Angeles, California. “This is it,” I exclaimed. I was looking at Moses’ paintings and the theatre model that he constructed in 1931!
To be continued…
