Month: September 2018

Part 511: Thomas G. Moses and Victor Higgins

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Victor Higgins, one of our promising young men, quit to take up picture painting and started with a strong determination to win, and I think he will.”

Victor Higgins, A.N.A. (1884-1949) was a friend to Moses over the years. They painted together in both scenic and fine art studios, remaining close until Moses’ death in 1934. Higgins was born in Shelbyville, Indiana. Purportedly, it was an itinerant sign painter who inspired Higgins to become an artist. Leaving home at the age of fifteen, he entered the Chicago Art Institute and studied alongside E. Martin Hennings and Walter Ufer by 1899. It was during his time in Chicago that Higgins began painting for the theatre, eventually meeting Moses. Higgins worked at Sosman & Landis alongside Art Oberbeck, Fred Scott, Edgar Payne, Ansel Cook, Walter C. Hartson, William Nutzhorn, David Austin Strong, and an artist named Evans. Higgins also worked for David Hunt at Sosman & Landis’ eastern affiliate New York Studios. His fellow New York Studio artists included William Smart, Art Rider, and Al Dutheridge.

As Moses recorded, Higgins’ “strong determination to win” prompted him to seek further artistic instruction beyond that available in Chicago. In 1908, Higgins travelled to New York, meeting Robert Henri (1865-1929) – a leading figure of the Ashcan School of art. Henri’s students included Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, George Bellow, Norman Raeben, Louis D. Fancher and Stuart Davis. He spurned the Academy and Impressionist school of painting, promoting a revived realism and rallying “for paint to be as real as mud, as the clods of horse shit and snow that froze on Broadway in the winter.” It was this instruction that likely guided Higgins’ art throughout the course of his career. Higgins’ artistic training in New York prompted him to continue his education in Europe.

The same year that Higgins traveled to New York, former Chicago Mayor and avid art collector, Carter H. Harrison, financed his artistic study in Europe at the Académie de la Grand Chaumière in Paris. There, he became a pupil of Rene Menard and Lucien Simon. Higgins then went to Munich where he was a pupil of Hans von Hyeck. During his first year in Europe, he sent Moses several postcards to share his journey with the older artist. In 1909 Higgins mailed Moses a postcard from 16 Promenadenplatz, Munich.

Chicago offered many opportunities for artists during this time. During Mayor Harrison’s administration, the Chicago City Council created the Commission for the Encouragement of Local Art (1914-1945). This commission used taxpayer money to purchase paintings and sculpture created by Chicago artists. It is no wonder that Chicago was a leading artistic force at the time and became an artistic hub where many artists gathered.

In 1909, Higgins briefly returned to work for Sosman & Landis again, decorating the interior for the American Music Hall in Chicago. This was a time when the studio was swamped with Masonic work and the scenic artists were busily producing massive Scottish Rite scenery collections at both their main and annex studios. Two of the projects were for the Scottish Rites in Atlanta, Georgia and Kansas City, Kansas. At the time, the studio was also busy creating a huge spectacle called “The Fall of Messiah” for the White City, a Coliseum Show, and a large installation of scenery for Detroit’s Temple Theatre.

Beginning in 1912, Higgins began exhibiting his artwork with the Palette & Chisel Club, earning national recognition and the Gold Medal (1913). Moses was also a member of this same fine art society, also exhibiting many times over the decades. Other artistic awards granted to Higgins were from the Municipal Art League (1915), the Logan Medal of the Art Institute of Chicago (1917), and the first Altman prize for the National Academy of Design (1918). He was represented in permanent collection of the Art Institute in Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles museum, and many other public and private collections.

To be continued…

Part 510: Thomas G. Moses and the Orpheum Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses recorded that Sosman & Landis provided drop curtains and scener for the Salt Lake Orpheum and the Kansas City Orpheum. The Kansas City Orpheum was advertised as “Kansas City’s Society Vaudeville Theater and located at W. 9^th Street and May Street. (Kansas City Journal, 10 Sept. 1899, page 14). The building, originally H. D. Clark’s 9^th Street Theatre, was leased by the Orpheum Theatre and Realty Co. in 1898.

In 1905, Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide listed that Kansas City had a population of approximately 200,000 people with six performance venues – the Willis Wood Theatre, the Grand Opera House, the Gilliss Theatre, the Auditorium, the Century and the Orpheum. The Century was a burlesque house while the Orpheum was a vaudeville theater.

The Kansas City Orpheum was managed by M. Lehman, with standard ticket prices at 15 cents to 75 cents. Located on the ground floor, the venue was illuminated with electricity (Volt. 110, Edison). The seating capacity was 2,084, with 594 in the parquet, 556 in the balcony, 556, 850 in the gallery, and 84 in the boxes. The theater did not have a scene room, but the stage had one bridge; it was located along the upstage wall.

Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical guide for 1903-1904 noted that the proscenium measured 40 feet wide by 36 feet high, with 63 feet the stage to the rigging loft and 40 feet between fly girders. The height of grooves for wings was 22 feet in height, yet the number of sets was not listed The depth of the stage was 44 feet from the footlights to the back wall. The distance between the sidewalls of the stage was 72 feet. The depth under the stage was 18 feet with seven traps.

Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide for 1905-1906 included a few changes to the technical specifications of the stage, likely why the new scenery was added at the time. When Moses was working for the Kansas City Orpheum, it had just undergone a partial renovation to the stage area. In 1905 the depth under the stage was decreased from 18 feet to 12 feet. The number of traps was also reduced from seven to two. The grooves height of grooves was also shortened from 22 feet to 20 feet. Additionally, the venue was no longer listed as being illuminated with a combination gas and electric system; it was solely electric. I have located no reason for the alteration to the building during 1905.

On December 26, 1914 a second Orpheum Theater was completed at an expense of $500,000. The new building was located at 1214 Baltimore Avenue. The previous Kansas City Orpheum Theater fell into misuse, became neglected, badly vandalized, and was eventually razed by 1922. The new Orpheum’s auditorium included a domed roof that was painted blue and highlighted with artificial stars, suggesting a nighttime atmosphere. The main stage curtain was made of wire woven asbestos painted to resemble velvet drapery and weighed in excess of 1,200 pounds.

Moses painted a few wire curtains throughout the course of his career. He wrote that they were “hard to paint.” A wire fireproof curtain in 1886 was for Jacob Litt at the Academy of Music in Milwaukee, and another was for Cleveland. In 1913, Moses painted a woven wire asbestos curtain that became damaged during shipping. Of the experience, Moses wrote, “big dents killed my picture.” He later explained that there was no remedy to repair any dented wire curtain, especially after folding one. Moses explained that “they should never be folded, always rolled.”

To be continued…

Part 509: The Orpheum in Salt Lake City

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote that he worked for the new Orpheum theatre in Salt Lake, Utah. “The Salt Lake Telegram” reported that the new Orpheum Theater would open on Christmas day (5 Dec 1905, page 4). The theater did open on its targeted date, but it was a last minute rush. The newspaper noted, “With a few gilded trimmings and with walls and ceilings yet untouched by the hands of the decorator, the New Orpheum theater made its bid for public favor last night. Manager Bristes [sic] promised to have the home of vaudeville open Christmas night and he did, despite discouraging delays from one source and another” (26 December 1905, page 5).

“The Salt Lake Telegram” explained a few of the delays, “The same mystery that surrounds the consignment of opera chairs also enveloped the two carloads of scenery that were shipped west from Chicago some days ago. Yesterday, word was received that the drop curtain and scenery had been located and would arrive from Denver not later than tomorrow morning, all of which lifts a great load from the mind of manager J. F. Bistes” (16 Dec. 1905, page 4). Misplacing two carloads of Sosman & Landis scenery must have been a nightmare scenario on the studio’s end too. The grand opening was December 25, and it still had to be installed at the venue. On Monday, December 17, two carloads of scenery and a drop curtain were unloaded and placed into position (The Salt Lake Telegram, 17 Dec. 1905, page 26).

The building, located on State and Olive Streets, was a three-story brick structure, reportedly costing $80,000 (Salt Lake Telegram, 30 Nov. 1905, page 9). The design by architect C. M. Neuhausen was advertised as “Modern in Construction” (The Salt Lake Telegram, 5 Dec. 1905, page 5). Excavation commenced during April and the building was ready for some interior work by September. The general color of the interior was green, white and gold with French plush hangings for the loges and draperies of rich red, decorated with gold arabesque designs. The seating capacity was 1300 with 705 seats on the first floor and 610 in the balcony, besides the seating in the boxes. There were hardwood opera chairs in the balcony and red leather “recliners” for the parquet levels. The seven exits were constructed so that the slightest pressure would open them, allowing the theater to be emptied in two minutes during an emergency. Amenities included “an airy nursery where white-capped maids would attend to children” on the second floor.

Arrangements were made with the Utah Light & Railway company to supply the lighting and such “motive power” for the installation of modern electrical effects. There were 1500 incandescent bulbs for the auditorium. The stage measured thirty feet in depth with eighty feet between the sidewalls. There was fifty-five feet from the stage floor to the rigging loft.

The newspaper reported, “The Orpheum Circuit company, through its general manager, Martin Beck, will direct the enterprise, the success of which seems assured by an affiliation with the most influential vaudeville interests in the West. There has been secured the booking co-operation of the Western Vaudeville Association, in whose Chicago offices contracts for all the big stars are made for the Orpheum circuit and other associate theaters. Salt Lake is thus assured equal advantages with theaters in many of the large Western cities from Chicago to San Francisco, to which this booking association sends the cream of the world’s best vaudeville talent. The importance of this booking alliance may be better appreciated when it is understood that it will give Salt Lake City the attractions that are supplied to the following important theaters: The Chicago opera-house, the Olympic, the Haymarket and the million-dollar Majestic theater (now building), all of Chicago; Columbia, St. Louis; Grand opera-house, Indianapolis; Columbia, Cincinnati; Hopkins, Louisville; Hopkins, Memphis; Orpheum, San Francisco; Orpheum, New Orleans; Orpheum, Los Angeles; Orpheum, Denver; Orpheum, Minneapolis; Orpheum, Kansas City; Orpheum, St. Paul; and the Orpheum, Omaha.”

The Orpheum Circuit was a chain of vaudeville and movie theaters. It was founded in 1886 and operated through 1927, when it merged with the Keith-Albee theater chain, ultimately becoming part of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) corporation. Salt Lake was the smallest city on the Orpheum Circuit in 1905.

Of the scenery for the old 1905 Salt Lake Orpheum, the “Salt Lake Telegram” noted, “The management made an effort to have these painted in this city, but under the time limit imposed that was impossible (The Salt Lake Telegram 14 Dec 1905, page 5). By 1912, a new Orpheum was already under construction and the “Salt Lake Telegram” reported “New Scenery for Orpheum Painted Here” (14 August, 1912, page 5). The article contended, “heretofore every new theatre with the exceptions of the old Salt Lake, has imported its scenery drop curtain and sets from one of the big New York or Chicago houses which make a specialty of equipping new theatres. The new Orpheum, now under construction on West Second South Street will have all of its scenery built and painted here.” Charles Wallace, a scenic artist employed by the Orpheum Circuit, arrived from Los Angeles to paint the scenery for the new theater in 1912. The article described, “Wallace took off his coat, his diamond pin in his pocket-book and climbed into his overalls and then up the paint frame. He is now throwing color on several sets, with the result that when the vaudeville season opens Sunday, a new outfit of scenery will greet the eyes of the first nighters. Another feature is that owning to the hard knocks scenery receives in vaudeville special linen has been shipped in from Syracuse, N. Y. The average theatre considers Indian Head calico good enough for scenery, but the Orpheum proposes to have the best. While Mr. Wallace and his assistants are “throwing color” the entire Orpheum force is housecleaning and getting the theatre ready for the opening.”

The new 1912 Orpheum was managed by the Salt Lake Orpheum Realty company (The Salt Lake Tribune 4 April 1912, page 20). The company selected the site where the Salt Lake Hardware Company once stood for their new building. They then granted a twenty-year lease to the newly formed Utah Orpheum Company, incorporated in California only a few days before the Salt Lake Orpheum Realty company was organized. The Utah Orpheum Company included some incorporators who also controlled the Salt Lake Orpheum Realty company; a win-win situation. It was the Utah Orpheum Company who would furnish the attractions while the Salt Lake Orpheum Realty company provided the space. At this same time, a merger was planned for the State Street Orpheum (1905), controlled by the Orpheus Vaudeville company, and the Utah Orpheum Company. In other words, the newer Utah Orpheum Company would absorb the older Orpheus Vaudeville company.

The architect, contracted to provide the new drawings for the proposed building was Mr. Landsberg. The older 1905 Orpheum building eventually became a movie theatre. The auditorium and main lobby were refurbished several times over the decades, each time the venue changed hands in fact. Except for the stage, little remained of the original building as a series of renovations altered the auditorium. The theater was first converted to show movies in 1918. Over the years, the theater was known by other names, including Loew’s Casino Theater (1920), Wilkes Theater, Roxey Theater, Salt Lake Theater, and Lyric Theater (1947). In 1971 the Lyric closed when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints bought the theatre. They restored the building for church plays, renaming it the Promised Valley Playhouse. By 1996, however, the theater closed due to structural problems. In 2000, the Church replaced the playhouse by building a new 911-seat theater as part of its new Conference Center. The final owners of the building, Zions Securities, eventually demolished the auditorium in 2003 to build a 400-car parking garage. The facade and lobby are the only elements that remain of the original building.

To be continued…

Part 508: Henry C. Tryon, Scenic Artist for the Salt Lake Theatre, 1882-1883

In 1883 Henry C. Tryon was in Salt Lake City, producing scenery for the newly renovated Salt Lake Theater. The “Salt Lake Daily” published, “The improvements which have been in progress at the Salt Lake Theatre during the past nine or ten months, under the direction of Henry C. Tryon, the noted scenic artist, have attracted a great deal of attention from theatrical men generally” (July 22, 1883, Vol. XIV, No. 41). Harry Miner’s Dramatic Directory listed Henry C. Tryon at the scenic artist who produced the 25 sets of scenery for the newly renovated Salt Lake Theatre.

The theater had already undergone one renovation in 1873. This project included adding a large parquet with four ascending parquet circles and two boxes flanking the proscenium opening. The dress circle curved in a semicircle that allowed the placement of a movable floor over the parquet seats. The false floor was level with the stage, creating a large hall for a various activities. Once positioned, the flooring permitted everything from grand balls to benefit dances for city firemen. The theater also included several dressing rooms and storage areas.

1884 the renovated stage was described in Harry Miner’s Dramatic Directory. The seating capacity was enlarged once again to accommodate 1,850 people. The renovated stage included a proscenium measuring 28 feet wide by 32 feet high. The venue used hard wings in grooves that measured 18 feet in height. The stage area was 65 feet deep by 70 feet wide. The height from the stage to the fly loft was 52 feet, with a depth under the stage of 11 feet.

The Salt Lake Theatre was enlarged again in the 1890s when the proscenium opening was expanded. Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide for 1896 reported that the proscenium opening now measured 32 feet wide by 40 feet high. There were six pairs of grooves, each measuring 18 feet in height. The grooves could now be taken up flush with the fly gallery. The stage had 5 traps included a vampire trap in front.

The Salt Lake Theatre was built in 1861. Located on the northwest corner of State Street and First South Street, the structure measured 80 feet by 144 feet. The seating capacity for the venue was originally 1,500 individuals. The theater served many functions over its lifespan and was host to a variety of social and political activities. When the theater was conceived, Salt Lake City had a population of 12,000 inhabitants. It was still considered a frontier outpost with a telegraph service, but little else.

The Mormon leader Brigham Young announced the plan to construct a theater and was integral in its overall planning and construction. Since the Mormons’ time in Nauvoo, the community had both enjoyed and promoted theatrical activities, including performances at H. E. Bowring’s makeshift playhouse or other entertainments at their social hall. Young made the decision to build the Salt Lake Theatre there in 1858. Part of his decision was due to the popularity of the amusement hall at nearby Camp Floyd. Camp Floyd’s hall maintained a tenuous existence and was not big enough for elaborate productions. When the Civil War began, Gen. Johnston was called back east, leaving a vacant hall at Camp Floyd. The amusement hall’s theatrical properties and scenery were procured by Nicholas Groesbeck for Springville, Utah. It was in Springville where Henry C. Tryon first worked in the region, painting $1000 worth of scenery for the venue.

The principals participants in the construction of the Salt Lake Theater included William Folsom as the main architect; Hiram B. Clawson as the general supervisor; E. L.T. Harrison as the interior designer; Alexander Gillespie, Henry Grow, Joseph Schofield, and Joseph A. Young as the foremen; and George M. Ottinger, Henry Maiben, and William Morris as the original scenic artists. Alfred Lambourne succeeded Ottinger as the scenic artist for the Salt Lake Theater. It was Lambourne who studied with Tryon when he was in the region.

“Scenic Notes” published in “The Salt Lake Daily Herald” described the scenery painted by Henry C. Tryon for the Salt Lake Theater” in 1882 (25 Nov 1882, page 8).

“Last evening a few of the new scenes painted by Mr. Henry C. Tryon were lighted up for the delectation of a small circle of friends who were present in the Theatre. A snow scene, beyond all comparison ahead of anything yet placed on the stage, was the theme of much favorable comment on account of its artistic naturalness. The effect of light and shade on the newly fallen snow, and the superb delineation of chill winter, was never more effectively shown, no matter what pains taken of the class of surroundings. The sky effect was faultless, and showed most exquisite taste in harmony of color, and in the delicate handling of the transparent vapors of a winter atmosphere. The whole scene is charming, and so true to nature, that an effort of the will seemed necessary to retain normal temperature.

We had a slight glimpse of the woods scene, now in process of development, and it indicated grand results on completion. A street scene was also run out to the front, and we do not hesitate to say that such a perfect representation of buildings has never been seen in this section, and never excelled elsewhere. The bricks, stone and mortar were to the eye as solid and real as the genuine article, and a more perfect counterfeit presentment could not be desired. It astonished as to find that Mr. Tryon, who excels in free-hand work, should display such ability in the hard mechanical effects of architectural painting. A prison, painted as effectively as was the building in this scene, would hold a hardened convict under the impression that it was built with solid rock.

The management are displaying excellent taste and good judgment in securing the artistic talent of Mr. Tryon, who is working wonders in the scenic department of this popular temple of the drama.” (The Springville Herald, 26 March 1936, page 4).

Mormon church president Heber J. Grant announced his intention to close the building during the 1920s. Until its demolition in 1928, this decision was protested by many from the community, including the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Various suggestions at the time included renovating the space or transforming it into a museum, but neither local nor state authorities were willing to preserve it. At the time the theater was razed, it was nationally recognized as one of the top historic stages in the country.

University of Utah doctoral student Aaron Ward Tracy compiled articles from various publications printed about the Salt Lake Theatre from 1864 to 1913. His research is now in the Special Collections of the J. Willard Marriott Library. The collection contains an extensive list of published materials about the Salt Lake Theatre, including plays, reviews, actors and actresses, venues, celebrations, and exhibits. Tracy researched the material in anticipation of his doctoral dissertation, which was never completed. Here is the link to the collection: http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv55145

There his research sits, waiting for another scholar to continue the work.

To be continued…

Part 507: Henry C. Tryon and the Scenery for Frazer’s Hall, 1870

Tyron was associated with Allen’s Globe Theatre in Chicago during 1870. That same year, he was contracted to produce the the drop curtain and scenery for Frazer’s Hall in Lawrence, Kansas (The Daily Kansas Tribune, 28 Dec, 1870).

Frazer’s Hall stage was located on the third floor of a business building. Located at 59 Massachusetts Street, it was next door to the famous Eldridge Hotel. The hotel occupied the southwest corner of Massachusetts and Seventh (now Winthrop) streets.

The first Eldridge House, built in in 1858, was burned by Quantrill’s Raiders on August 21, 1863. This group consisted of pro-Confederate partisan guerillas, also called bushwhackers, who fought in the American Civil War. Missouri and Kansas were subject to Confederate bushwhackers and anti-slavery Jayhawkers who competed for control in the region. The town of Lawrence was a center of ant-slavery sentiment.

In the summer of 1863 Quantrill’s Raiders, numbering approximately 400 men, brutally descended on the town of Lawrence in the early morning, looting and burning the town of 3,000. By the end of their raid, they had killed approximately 180 men and boys, leaving the town in a sad state of smoldering ruins. However, the proud City of Lawrence quickly rebuilt and adopted the motto “from ashes to immortality.”

During the reconstruction, Col. Eldridge used an original cornerstone from the burned Eldridge House for his new hotel. By the next month, a three-story building was under construction. In November, the roof was put on and by the next month the first floor was completed and ready for occupation. The new hotel was complete with five storerooms for lease on the first floor. The Eldridge House re-opened with a reception of guests on September 27, 1864. The next evening the proprietors celebrated the opening by giving a ball at Frazer’s hall. Renters in the new building included Merchant Tailoring, H. H. Ludington’s saloon, a Bazaar store, Drake & Crew’s bookstore, and B. W. Woodward’s drug store. For the next few decades, the Eldridge Hotel was known as one of the best hotels west of the Mississippi; this benefited the small performance venue known as Frazer’s Hall next door.

The Eldridge Hotel was three stories high with a frontage of one hundred feet on Massachusetts Street and one hundred and seventeen feet on Seventh Street. The first floor was used principally for stores with the hotel office and the main entrance on Massachusetts street and the kitchen in the rear. The sixty-four rooms in the upper stories included sleeping rooms and parlors. The rooms were reported to be large, airy and well lighted; everything was tastefully furnished with high ceilings.

In 1866, the Eldridge Hotel was sold to George W. Deitzler for approximately $50,000, with Deitzler retaining the “Eldridge House” name. Deitzler renovated the building and soon leased i to E. A. Smith and E. C. Stevens. Stevens had worked at the Planter’s Hotel in Leavenworth, Kansas, for several years and had the experience for this new endeavor.

It is in 1866, that the first advertisements for Frazer’s Hall appear in the “Daily Kansas Tribune.” On April 29, 1866, “A Grand Concert of Vocal and Instrumental” was advertised at at Frazer’s Hall (page 1). We learn that the venue’s manager is N. C. Pope (May 1866). Frazer’s Hall advertised, “Magnificent and Genteel Comedy Performance By Experienced and Excellent Actors” (Daily Kansas Tribune, May 18, 1866, page 1).

The Leavenworth Theatre played in Frazer Hall, March 18-24, 1867, presenting “Honey Moon, ” “The Lady of Lyons,” “Ten Nights in a Bar Room,” “Richard III,” “Ingomar,” and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The Lord Dramatic Company played the hall December, 1869, and by January 1870, the New York Theater Company performed “Daughter of the Regiment.” It was after the production of “Daughters of the Regiment” that Henry C. Tryon was contracted to paint a new drop curtain and stock scenery for the venue.

The new scenery by Tryon for Frazer’s Hall consisted of a painted front draperies, tormentors, and seven sets of scenery representing a garden, palace, landscape, kitchen, prison, parlor, plain chamber, street, and a complete set of wings and borders; a standard collection for the times.

To be continued…

 

 

Part 506: Henry C. Tryon, Scenic Artist for Allen’s Globe Theatre in Chicago, 1870

I have been exploring the scenic art career of Henry C. Tryon for the past few posts. He worked in Chicago and throughout the western United States during the 1870s and 1880s, including the Salt Lake City Theater and the Tabor Opera House in Denver. Tryon was a friend of Thomas G. Moses and fellow Sosman & Landis employee. Although he worked all over the country, he continually returned to Chicago during the late 19^th century.

In 1870, Tryon was listed as the scenic artist for Allen’s Globe Theater in Chicago, a venue with D. R. Allen & Co. as the proprietors. During the 1860s, Allen had operated a touring company – Allen’s Celebrated Tableau Company (The Burlington Free Press, 17 May 1862, page 3). He performed with his wife in the company, acting in productions such as “May Martin,” “Slasher and Crasher,” “The Story of Camille,” and “The Maid of Munster.” In 1868, the couple was working in Chicago, with Mrs. D. R. Allen performing in “A Bold Stroke for Her Husband” at Col. Wood’s Museum (Chicago Tribune, 20 Dec. 868, page 4).

Chicagology (www.chicagology.com) reports that Allen’s Theatre was the only one to survive the 1871 Chicago Fire; that is no small feat. The Manager of Allen’s Globe Theater was D. R. Allen, with Geo. H. Griffiths as the stage manager. “The Chicago Tribune” published that Allen’s new theater was a “West Side Theatre” (16 Oct. 1870, page 3). D. R. Allen’s Globe Theatre company would continue to perform in a variety of other venues during 1871, including at Chicago’s Crosby Opera House (Chicago Tribune, 15 Feb. 1871, page 4).

Located on Desplaines street, between Washington and Madison, it was rapidly approaching completion by October of 1870. The newspaper article reported, “It will probably be finished and ready for opening early in the ensuing month. The roof is about done, and the work on the stage is now in active progress. Present appearances indicate that it will be one of the best arranged theatres in the city. Mr. Allen is now busy organizing his company, and expects to open about the 7^th with a well-selected dramatic corps. There is every reason to anticipate for the new theatre a successful career.”

The prices of admission for Allen’s Globe Theatre were: Parquette and Dress Circles was 75 cents, with the Family circle at 50 cents, the Balcony at 75 cents and the Gallery at 30 cents. Matinees were 50 cents. The doors opened at 7:15 p.m. daily with an 8 p.m. curtain.

In the Amusement section of the Chicago Tribune, and article announced that one of the first performances at Allen’s Globe Theatre would include Jenny Lind, on November 26, 1870, Allen’s Globe Theatre. The venue was showing Bryon’s “£100,000. Splendid Acting. Chaste Appointments. To conclude with Jenny Lind, with all the original music” (Chicago Tribune 26 Nov, 1870, page 4).

By 14 January 1871, “The Chicago Tribune” was listing Allen’s new theater as Chicago’s “Globe Theatre” with productions including “His Last Legs” and “Turn Him Out” (page 4). The venue survived the Chicago fire, but also became known simply as Allen’s Theatre. (Chicago Tribune, 9 Oct. 1872, page 11).

In 1873, the Chicago Tribune reported that “The Globe Theatre” had reopened with D. R. Allen continuing his former position of Manager after a change of program (Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 1871, page 3). That same year, the baseball clubs of McVicker’s and Allen’s Theatre played a game at the corner of Laflin and Van Buren Streets (Chicago Tribune 31 May 1873, page 5). Theaters with baseball teams – what fun.

Tyron was associated with Allen’s Theatre while he was painting the drop curtain and all of the scenery for Frazer’s Hall in Lawrence, Kansas during 1870 (The Daily Kansas Tribune, 28 Dec, 1870). The scenery, consisting of tormentor wings, front draperies and seven sets of scenery that represented a garden, palace, landscape, kitchen, prison, parlor, plain chamber, street, complete with wings and borders.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Part 505: Replacing Henry C. Tryon’s “The Return of the Victorious Fleet” Drop Curtain

 

 

Yesterday’s post concerned the 1882 drop curtain for the Salta Lake Theater, painted by Henry C. Tryon. In 1910, “The Salt Lake City Herald-Republican” reported that there were plans for a new drop curtain for the Salt Lake Theater (18 Sept. 1910, page 26):

“After thirty years of almost continuous service, the drop curtain at the Salt Lake theatre is to be replaced by a new one which manager George D. Pyper expects to have in place in time for the engagement of Henry Miller, beginning September 29. The subject of the new curtain will be Salt Lake Valley in the days of the pioneers, and it will be copied from a painting by William M. Minor, scenic artist at the theatre.

It will be difficult to exceed the beauty of the old curtain, whose artistic coloring and good drawing have made it a favorite for years. “The Return of the Victorious Fleet” was painted by Henry C. Tryon, one of the best artists in his line who ever came to Salt Lake. Those who have studied the stately ships coming into harbor may have wondered at the absence of life in the picture. The original, which is in the possession of Mr. Pyper, contained a crowd of people on the steps of the buildings, but Mr. Tryon was not a figure painter, and rather than mar his painting by inferior work, left the out altogether.

Except for the short intervals, “The Return of the Victorious Fleet” has hung in the theatre nearly thirty years. Some years ago an attempt was made to replace it by a picture of the chariot race in “Ben Hur.” The artist made the horses of heroic size, and so near the edge of the curtain that they seemed to menace the spectators who sat close. One critic of the day said that a certain scene in a play created a strong effect until “Pyper’s horses came clattering down.”

The artist attempted to remedy the defect by drawing them smaller, when Le Grand Young, a regular patron of the theatre, objected to sitting in front of the theatre, objected to sitting in front of a horse with a dislocated shoulder out of joint. That finished the curtain, and the same artist painted a second, an evening scene in Venice, which was hung for about a year. Another curtain which will be remembered was a field of carnations. This was secured from the Tremont theatre in Boston, but, did not prove to be popular. “The Return of the Victorius Fleet” was rehung, and has continued in place until now. With the closing performance of “The Spendthrift,” it was rung down forever.”

To be continued…

Part 504: Henry C. Tryon’s “The Return of the Victorious Fleet” Drop Curtain

Yesterday I explored the scenic career of Henry C. Tryon, a pupil of Thomas Moran. Thomas G. Moses commented that Tryon followed Moran’s style of work even into his scene painting. Moses also replicated prints of Moran for scenic art compositions. There was another landscape artist whose paintings were replicated as subjects for drop curtains – William Linton. It was noted in a newspaper article about Tryon’s work for the Salt Lake Theater. Images remain of both Tryon’s work, and Linton’s famous historical painting ““A City of Greece – Return of the Glorious Armament.”

In 1883, “The Salt Lake City Herald” described the new drop curtain for the Salt Lake Theater painted by Henry C. Tryon (2 Sept 1883, page 4). This provides insight into this contemporary of Thomas G. Moses.

Here is the article in its entirety, as it is the most beautiful description of a drop curtain that I have come across to date. There is something to be said about the reverence, detailed description and insight of the author in regard to Tryon’s composition. It is an incredibly long article to describe a single drop curtain!

“Henry C. Tryon, artist of the Salt Lake Theatre, has finished the drop curtain on which he has been engaged for some time past. To those who have been acquainted with the artist’s condition during his work on this picture, the result will be a profound surprise. He has had scarcely one day on it in which he had the strength necessary to the labor, to say nothing of the unfortunate condition of mind that naturally results from physical incapacity and sickness. The picture is from a painting by W. Linton, called “A City of Ancient Greece, with the Return of a Victorious Fleet,” but the lines of the composition have been materially altered, and it must be admitted, with happy results. Instead of making the city of primary interest, Mr. Tryon has made the “Return of the Victorious Fleet” the subject of his story, using the city as a necessary detail to the perfection of the tale. The hour is just before sunset, the sky soft, warm, and tender – just such a sky as any lover of nature might have noticed here repeatedly about a week ago when our warm Indian summer evenings began; and one of who had watched the progress of the picture must have felt forcibly on many occasions during the past two weeks what a powerful effect our summer evenings have had on the artist’s mind and with what trust and feeling he has expressed the sentiment they awakened in him.

 

The scene opens in a broad harbor. Showing the grand architectural structures of the period and nationality in the rear, gradating into the distance with a few hazy mountains, as an accessory background, the outlines of which are made apparent by a remarkable atmosphere and soft clouds tinged and iris-hued by the rays of the fast sinking sun, the existence of which, while not visible, is none the less strongly felt. On the right, and very prominent, are marble supports and marble steps leading down to the water’s edge; opposite to the left there is a distinct intimation of the same architecture, only hidden by a profusion of foliage and the sails and banners and pennants of the incoming vessels. A viaduct beneath which a stream of water flows fringes the centre of the harbor in the rear, and here again the foliage golden tipped by the sun, grows in glorious profusion and saves the eye from that sense of weariness which architecture, bare and unrelieved, however magnificent, however fascinating for the time being, invariably produces upon a longer acquaintance. With the genuine landscape artist’s feeling, which does not exist where it does not reach after trees and water generally, foliage freaks out from unexpected yet natural points, and while doing service by relieving the monotony of architecture, introduces a feeling which, even though unobserved, gives a sense of satisfaction which is experienced and enjoyed without passing through the judgment for approval.

The story of the picture is told in its title – “The Return of the Victorious Fleet.” There need be no title for the picture explains itself. The vessels filled with warriors enter at the left, pass up the harbor, then turn to the right where they group together, where wives, children and friends rush out of the grand marble structures and are massed between the marble columns, and receive the dear ones who have come home safely and victoriously out of the contest with a powerful foe. Everything is glowing, warm and cheerful, the expression being free and happy, while the bright colors, the brilliant banners, streamers and pennants, the colors commingling and toned down by the intervening atmosphere, give to the principal chapter of the story a gala-day appearance, and inspire a sentiment of pleasure in the bosom of the spectator. There is enough omitted detail to give the imagination ample sway, hence it is that the story continues to the right outside the picture, leading to the belief that the scene which the eye beholds is continually indefinitely, and that the same happy and joyful sentiment prevails at other colossal structures which do not appear in the picture. The story is made the richer by the happy idea of coloring which the artist has employed – that is, the line of light follows the interest of the story, which begins at the left, spreads bout two-thirds over the picture, and culminates at the extreme right hand. So the shadows are deepened at the left (the bright colors of the sails just entering the harbor relieving it of a dismal air) the light gradually dawning towards the middle of the picture where it breaks in a glorious flood just at that point where the interest of the story culminates, and then modulates and tones down to the right, leaving the impression that away in the distance the story is concluded, leaving also to the imagination just as much as is essential to the perfection of a charming sketch. One objection that might naturally be interposed to the detail of the story is the fact that on the front marble steps there are no figures such as can be seen in the rear, and which as a matter of fact ought really to be visible at the point referred to. But there are weighty reasons why these were omitted. In the first place, Mr. Tryon is essentially a landscape painter, and confesses his inability to paint respectable figures. This being true, he could add nothing to the effect. But even were he capable of painting figures, for the truth of the story they are better omitted in this picture. To paint them well, or even indifferently, would be to arrest the eye, and in the degree in which this result was produced, just in that degree would the interest of the story be interrupted and the idea of the artist be disadvantageously affected. It is a principle in all art that too much detail ruins the finest paintings, as in all stories, those details only are to be tolerated which are essential to the solution of the plot, that moment it is an injury. Therefore, for the reason that he was incompetent for good figure-painting, and because such a detail would arrest the eye at a point where the injurious, Mr. Tryon wisely deemed it best to leave out the figures, and made the architecture as simple as possible, relieving it only by the water at its edge, and the prows of the two vessels just turning one of the columns.

So much for mechanical thought and labor. But who can explain in words the sentiment, the tone, the poetic idealism the artist intended and has expressed? It is in these mainy that his genius is manifest; and every eye that rests upon the glowing canvass will behold beauties peculiar to itself; in every mind it will awaken thoughts that may occur to none other, and the impression and sentiment that it may arouse will be individualized in each bosom. Imagine, a warm, rich, summer day, the haze of an Indian summer’s eve lingering lovingly and tenderly over all, toning down features that might be harsh and making indistinct and indefinite points that seem to fade away into atmosphere so delicate, so mild, so feeling, so tender! Here and there a flood of warm light develops a particular feature in order that the contrast may heighten the effect, as for instance in the foliage under the viaduct, or as a single point in the architecture; as a cloud catches a single ray of the warm sun as ot appears on the ripples on the waves. The beauty of the water in the harbor must strike every artist and art lover as a thing of surpassing loveliness, in that it is true to nature and nature is beauty. The reflection of the brilliant colors from the prows of the bright colored boats, mingling in the waves, produces a combination of brilliant colors, which is rendered beautiful from the very indistinguishable profusion of the hues and the brilliance of the effect, rendering the transparency of the water so realistic that the deception is perfect. But who can describe a painting in words, however beautiful, however poor? It may be pronounced good, bad, or indifferent, particularly points favored and others condemned; it may awaken thoughts that otherwise would remain dormant, and may call to view things of beauty which would otherwise have blossomed and blushed unseen, but to the artist alone is given to produce anything approaching an imitation of the evanescent beauty, the supreme grandeur of nature. The critic cane merely direct public attention, and that is all we dare attempt with regard to Mr. Tryon’s picture.

The drop curtain just finished, establishes, or will establish a fact that has always been claimed by the HERALD, that a successful scene painter is every inch an artist. Only view “The Return of Victorious Fleet” by Mr. Tryon, and be convinced.”

To be continued…

 Part 503: Thomas G. Moses and Henry C. Tryon

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses recorded that he painted a Grand Canyon curtain for Duluth and used a print of Thomas Moran for the source. Although the Santa Fe Railroad had offered transportation to the Grand Canyon to complete sketches on site, Moses did not have the time to spare.

As I have previously discussed, it was the works of Thomas Moran and some of his contemporaries who influenced the painted aesthetic for popular entertainment on the stage and scenic illusion, if not by their own artworks, then by the works of their students. Moses’ connection to Moran was not simply through his reverence for the artist, but also Henry C. Tryon, a student of Moran’s and fellow scenic artist. Tryon was another Sosman & Landis artist who worked alongside Moses and went on sketching trips with him during the 1880s. Tryon was brought on at Sosman & Landis as Lem Graham’s replacement, after Graham left for Kansas City to start his own scenic studio – Kanas City Scenic Co. Moses wrote: “[Tryon] enthused Young and I more than anyone ever had. He was a pupil of Thos. Moran and James and William Hart and was very clever, but awfully eccentric.”

Moses wrote about his sketching trip to West Virginia in 1885 with Tryon, publishing a series of articles for the Palette & Chisel newsletter where Moses described his journey and traveling companions, especially the “eccentric” Henry C. Tryon. In one section, he described how Tryon became the student of Thomas Moran (1837-1926). In 1885, Moses wrote, “I certainly enjoyed talking on any subject with Tryon. He was very strong on politics, which did not particularly interest me. He was very interesting when it came to anything on art. He had been a pupil of Thomas Moran. Tryon told this story: He had bothered Moran for some time trying to induce Moran to take him on as a pupil. Moran was too much of a gentleman to throw Tryon out of his studio, so he finally took an old canvas, slapped on a lot of color with a palette knife, handed it to Tryon and said: “Take that home, make a picture out of the accidentals and bring it back in a week.” Moran felt that Tryon would throw the canvas away and not come back. The week-end found Tryon back and Moran was so well pleased with the result that he took Tryon on as a pupil, which was very beneficial to Tryon who followed Moran’s style of work even into his scenic painting, as well as his oil. He enjoyed telling this story; he surely must have made a good picture of Moran’s accidentals.” Tryon also worked as a scenic artist at McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago, painting alongside Lou Malmsha, one of the great scenic artists of Chicago during the late-nineteenth century.

As I was looking for information pertaining to the drop curtain that Moses’ painted in Duluth, I encountered the Grand Canyon drop curtain that Walter W. Burridge painted for the Grand Opera House in Chicago during 1902. I also encountered another reference to Henry C. Tryon and a description of his character in a book that was recently written by Donna L. Poulton. In “Reuben Kirkham, Pioneer Artist” Poulton writes about Kirkham’s work with Alfred Lambourne (1850-1926). They painted stage scenery in Salt Lake City at the Lehi Music Hall in 1871. In Lambourne’s reminiscences about the theater, he mentions Henry C. Tryon as his final mentor. Poulton includes Lambourne’s description of Henry C. Tryon, “that erratic genius, that Bohemian of Bohemians.” Lambourne recorded, “…I worked with Tryon about seven weeks. Not on the paint gallery of the Salt Lake theatre, but in one of our southern towns, where we had taken a contract, jointly, for furnishing a set of stock scenery. Those seven weeks were among the most exciting, and from the art standpoint, most profitable of my life. Tryon arrived in Salt Lake City, after a long and successful season of scene-painting in Chicago, and at the Tabor Grand, in Denver. Who, that knew the man, could ever forget that walk, that shock of unkempt red hair, that shrewd ingratiating smile and fun, the enthusiasm, or flash of anger in those steel gray Irish eyes. How distinctly I remember the low suppressed tones of his voice and the sparkle in the same eyes, as he once confronted me and uttered these words: “I have never yet met a man whose combativeness I could not overcome with my own.” However that may have been, we became fast friends and without surrender on either side.”

Henry C. Tryon wrote a tribute to his good friend and fellow scenic artist, Louis Malmsha (1863-1882). Tryon worked with Malmsha at Wood’s Theatre in Cincinnati and later with him at McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago. In 1882, Tryon published a tribute to Malmsha heralding him as “the greatest scenic painter in the world.” It appeared in the “Salt Lake City Herald” on October 22, 1882. (see past installment #123). Of Malmsha, he wrote, “As an humble follower, ardent admirer, friend, and confrere of this dead artist I felt it my duty to render tribute and homage to his transcendent genius. He was “the best in the profession.” Every artist who has seen his work has without qualification given him this position as a matter of simple fact. I have seen samples from the hands of the best scenic artists in England, France, and Italy, and from what I have seen and learned. I am convinced that Mr. Malmsha was the greatest scenic painter in the world.” This allows us to trace a scenic art lineage of respect and admiration.

Tryon was born in Chicago in 1847.  At the age of seventeen, he enlisted in the army in a regiment attached to the Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, serving until the close of the Civil War. He later became a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of Design, intending to become a landscape painter, studying with both Thomas Moran (1837-1926) and William M. Hart (1823-1894). Tryon worked with Malmsha at Wood’s Theatre in Cincinnati and later with him at McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago. In the early 1880s. Tryon had moved to Salt Lake City where he became active as a scenic artist, well known for his drop curtain at the Salt Lake Theatre entitled, “The Return of a Victorius Fleet.” He also produced 25 sets of scenery for the Salt Lake Theatre.

In 1883, the “Salt Lake Daily” published, “The improvements which have been in progress at the Salt Lake Theatre during the past nine or ten months, under the direction of Henry C. Tryon, the noted scenic artist, have attracted a great deal of attention from theatrical men generally” (July 22, 1883, Vol. XIV, No. 41). The author of the article then asked Mr. Mayer, “By the way, what do you think of Tryon as an artist?” Mayer’s response, “Tryon? We he has a national reputation. The fact that he is engaged to paint the scenes is a guarantee that the scenes outfit will be on par with any theatre in the United States. He is none of your fellows who depend on village theatre for a livelihood; his services are in demand all the time and the only thing that beats my penetration is that so expensive an artist could be obtained to come to Salt Lake. The scenes already painted are the equal of anything in stock in the country.”

And yes, Tryon was a Scottish Rite Mason too. For his Masonic affiliation, see past installments #199-201.

To be continued…

Part 502: Thomas G. Moses and the Grand Canyon Drop Curtain for Duluth, 1905

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses recorded that he painted a Grand Canyon curtain for Duluth. This was not an unusual subject for the stage, as Moses’ one-time business partner and good friend Walter W. Burridge painted a Grand Canyon drop curtain for the Grand Opera House of Chicago in 1901. “The World Review” commented on Walter Burridge’s rendition, pubishing, “Probably the most unusual and effective drop-curtain in America is the one that was recently given a place in the Grand Opera House of Chicago. It is the work of Mr. Walter Burridge, who is known throughout the country as a scene-painter of remarkable versatility and artistic sense. He has spent six weeks in the painting of the present curtain, which pictures the Grand Canyon of Colorado. Part of that time Mr. Burridge spent in the canyon itself, and he has succeeded beyond expectation in giving depth of perspective. Largeness of effect, and the marvelous atmospheric clearness that is characteristic of the region. Such painting must take its place in the realm of true art” (4 Jan. 1902, Vol. 2, page 500)

Of the Grand Canyon scene for Duluth, Moses wrote, “This was in many ways a very successful curtain. The Santa Fe Railroad offered to send me to the Canyon to make the sketch that we couldn’t afford to accept – that is the time to go and come and make sketches.” Instead of a sketching trip to gather source material, Moses wrote, “I was satisfied with one of Moran’s famous reproductions.”

I would love to know how many Moran paintings were reproduced for the stage. His paintings, with their atmospheric action and romantic landscapes were perfect for the stage. It is unclear which Moran print Moses used for the Duluth drop curtain, but there are other examples that Twin City Scenic Co. artists used for other projects.

There are examples of Moran prints used as sources by scenic artists in the Twin City Scenic Co. collection at the University of Minnesota Libraries Performing Arts Archives. Many of the prints still had paint spatter from the artists who had them near while painting. One 11”x 17” included notes for the scenic artists on the back of the print, “Reverse and use right half of picture only. No figures. For West.” One Thomas Moran print was replicated by John Z. Wood for one design at the Twin City Scenic Co without any alterations; it was titled “Sunset in Old Mexico.”

Of the drop curtain in Duluth, Moses wrote, “After painting, I could lower the drop down the cut, until the horizon line was perfect. We lowered the bridge so we could look down over 15 feet, and the effect was truly wonderful, very easy to paint a large panorama and get the same effect.”

The drop curtain was so successful that the theater manager in Duluth sent Moses a box of cigars as a token of his appreciation. Moses recorded, “The manager sent me a box of cigars by express. This was evidently smoked by the express agent, as it never reached me, but the second box came alright and I enjoyed them.”

Moses was well known in Duluth, Minnesota, as he had painted scenery for other stages, at least twice before 1905. He worked on both on commercial theatre and fraternal theatre projects there. In 1891, Thomas G. Moses and Abraham “Perry” Landis went to Duluth where they closed an $8.954.00 contract with A. M. Miller, owner of the Lyceum Theater. Moses worked in the Minnesota town from March 1891 until the end of April. In 1904. He was also responsible for supervising the painting and installation of the Scottish Rite scenery in Duluth, Minnesota.

To be continued…