Part 428: Sketching at Seton Falls
While living in Mt. Vernon, New York, Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934) had the opportunity to go on sketching trips with fellow scenic artists John H. Young (1858-1944) and Harry Vincent (1864-1931). Young and Moses met in Grand Rapids, Michigan, during 1876. Both began their artistic careers in fresco painting, transitioning to scenic art and design about the same time in Chicago during 1880; they both worked for Sosman & Landis.
From the beginning, Moses and Young took many sketching trips with other scenic artists all across the country from West Virginia to the Rocky Mountains. These trips with were for research to be used on future productions and to hone their artistic skills. By 1884, Moses and Young spent their Sundays at F. C. Bromely’s studio in Chicago painting in oil. Moses wrote, “We both made some progress. Bromely was quite dramatic in his work and we enjoyed it during the year.” John Hendricks Young was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1858 and was two years younger than Moses.
Moses met Vincent when he worked with A. J. Rupert and Frank Peyraud to create the settings for William Haworth’s “A Flag of Truce” 1892. After the project was completed, Vincent joined Moses to work for him at Sosman & Landis’ new annex studio that same year. Located in the old Waverly Theatre, Moses recorded that his studio crew included A. J. Rupert, Frank Peyrand and Harry Vincent, besides a number of assistants and paint boys.
Of his New York sketching with Young and Vincent in 1901 Moses wrote, “Every Sunday this summer I went sketching near home, and it was very picturesque. John Young and Harry Vincent joined me quite often, as we all lived near the spot. Occasionally I would go to Seton Falls, a very rugged place. Ella and the children would get a carriage and drive over with a luncheon for me, and late in the afternoon, in the cool of the evening, we would take an extended drive, along Long Island Sound. We enjoyed it very much.”
Where the three was sketching is currently known as Seton Falls Park; an irregular 35-acre section of land between East 233rd Street and parts of Marolla Place and Crawford, Seton and Pratt Avenues. This area now includes a woodland, wetland, and bird sanctuary named from the prominent waterfalls built in the park by the Seton family. In the 19th century, the Setons were instrumental in the political and social affairs of what was then the town of Eastchester. It was often called the “Grand Canyon” of the Bronx. Seton Falls Park was less than two miles away from Mount Vernon, where Moses and Ella were living at the time.
Rattlesnake brook trickles through Seton Park. The lack of rattlesnakes is credited to the settlers’ use of early pigs to decimate the snake population; pigs find snakes of all types a delicious treat. Today, the remnants of Rattlesnake Brook primarily remain encased in masonry as its winds through the Park.
To be continued…
