German artist F. W. Heine traveled to the United States with nineteen other European artists to work for the American Panorama Company in 1885. William Wehner constructed a rotunda building to use as the panorama studio; it was located at 628 Wells Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The American Panorama Company was formed in 1883, but closed by 1887 even though the studio space continued to produce painted panoramas. Eight projects were possibly completed during the existence of the American Panorama Company.
The Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) lists biographical information about many of artists who created the massive paintings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1884 – 1900. I also have information from the Milwaukee Historical Society on the artists; they are primarily a diverse group of immigrants. The panorama studio staff represented several European countries and most of the painters had recently immigrated to the United States. Many of these artists would continued to work for the American Panorama Company’s lead artists, F.W. Heine and August Lohr, after the first studio closed. They now created massive panoramas under the direction of Lohr and Heine.
Like the American Panorama Company, Lohr and Heine’s studio was succeeded by the Milwaukee Panorama Company. The Milwaukee Panorama Company was founded by August Lohr, Imre Boos, and Paul Zabel. Interestingly, Imre Boos was not an artist, but his wife Amy Boos was a panorama painter! THAT is a topic for a whole other post when I delve back into the women scenic artists who have completely faded from theatre history.
This quick succession of studios in Milwaukee, however, reminds me of Walter Burridge forming “Burridge, Moses & Louderback” and then suddenly forming “Albert, Grover & Burridge” only a few years later. As with many scenic studios during the late nineteenth century, there is a continued transformation as partnerships formed, businesses opened, studios changed hands, and artists shifted their allegiances.
Regardless of individual artistic temperaments, however, work remained plentiful and there were profits to be made by investors. There was initial push back from the American scenic artists after the twenty foreign scenic artists arrived in Milwaukee but there was money to be made in panoramas – it was big money.
On July 29, 1882, the Chicago Tribune included an article tiled “Costly Panorama” (page 16). The article concluded with “Panoramas have paid so well recently in Paris that there are four in that city, four in London, two in Berlin, three in Brussels, etc.” That was why Wehner was so quick to construct a studio in Milwaukee.
What intrigues me about the American Panorama Company story is the systematic selection of foreign artists to create a popular product. It suggests an explosive market without enough American artists to supply the ever-increasing demand for panoramas. One could also consider a superior artistic training and familiarity with the artistic form. One could also consider the price of immigrant labor as the seeds of unions were being sown in the theatre industry.
Remember, the early unions for scenic artists and theatrical stage mechanics were already forming throughout New York and Chicago. The Theatrical Mechanics Association was formed in 1866 and the initiation of Charles S. King occurred in 1881 while he was in Minneapolis. The American Society of Scene Painters emerged in 1892 (see installments #138 and 179) and included some thirty members of the most prominent men in the profession.
The objects of the society were “to promote the artistic and practical efficiency of the profession, and consolidate as a whole the dignity of the profession hitherto maintained by the individual artist.” It prevented stage employees from handling any scenery except that painted by members of the Alliance, stirring up excitement among foreign managers. The American Society of Scene Painters gave rise to a later Protective Alliance of Scene Painters of America formed in 1895. Panoramas were produced and displayed in a space that was not a standard theater with stagehands and run by manager. It may have been a lucrative loophole for investors.
Even as the panorama craze began to diminish at the end of the nineteenth century, the artists remained in the country. It was a land of plenty and a golden age of artistic endeavors. They opened their own studios and art schools. In 1888, Heine opened a watercolor and etching studio that was located in Milwaukee’s Iron Block Building. Like Moses, Heine went on sketching trips with fellow artists to gather primary research. Work was plentiful and the relationships between scenic studios and their artists remained as friendly competitors.
The tale of Thomas G. Moses records his interaction with many other artists, including the German painters at the Toomey & Volland scenic studio in St. Louis. For years, Moses would always stop by the studio when in town. The artists needed to maintain a network and understand the specific talents available in each studio as they might need an additional hand some day. Their connections were an asset, a strength facilitating potential partnerships for future projects. The stylistic interpretation may vary from artist to artist, but the overall approach remained constant. The industry promoted a standard and consistent process of painting techniques. Professional scenic artists created paintings intended to be viewed from a distance, at least twenty feet away.
To be continued…
