Part 573: Otto Armbruster, 1908
In 1908, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “August 16th, heard of Otto Armbruster’s death by suicide. It was an awful shock as we were such close friends. The German way of getting out of trouble, but he had no trouble, plenty of money and a good business. No one seems to know just what the cause of the rash act was.” Newspapers suggested various causes for Armbruster’s suicide, including a lack of studio work and the intense summer heat.
Armbruster was a colleague and friend of Moses during his time in New York when he worked for Moses & Hamilton. During the spring of 1900, Thomas G. Moses and William F. Hamilton opened the scenic studio of Moses & Hamilton at Proctor’s 125th Street Theater. That year, Moses’ wrote, “Otto Armbruster was with us and he was a very valuable man. He and [Ed] Loitz worked at 125th Street most of the time.”
Otto Herman Armbruster came from a well-known scene painting family in Columbus, Ohio, a son born to Mathias Armbruster (1839-1920), the founder of Armbruster Scenic Studios (est. 1875).
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 28, 1865. He was trained as a scenic artist under the tutelage of his father, Mathias. Unlike his other brothers, Otto moved away from the family business at the age of twenty to strike off on his own as a freelance scenic artist in New York. He was soon associated with the Broadway Theatre and also became an illustrator for decorator magazines. Like Moses, Otto was also a member of the Salmagundi Club in New York, and joined the Kit-Kat Club.
The “Cincinnati Enquirer” reported on Armbruster’s suicide and suggested that lack of work was the cause (16 Aug. 1908, page 1). In a special dispatch to the Enquirer in Columbus, Ohio, on August 15, the article reported on the suicide of “a former resident of Columbus, and one of the best-known scenic artists in the country.” The article continued that one of Armbruster’s brothers received a letter from him a month ago, in which he complained of lack of work.”
The “New York Times,” provided a little more detail about the suicide and suggesteed another cause – “ARTIST A HEAT SUICIDE. Driven Insane by High Temperature, Otto H. Armbruster Shoots Himself.” The article noted, “Mamaronek, N. Y., Aug. 15 – Driven insane by the intense heat, Otto H. Armbruster, a New York scenic artist, committed suicide at his home in Mamaroneck early this morning by sending a bullet into his right temple. He was taken to the New Rochelle Hospital, where he died while the doctors were probing for the bullet. Mr. Armbruster, who was 43 years old, came home yesterday and told his wife he could not endure the intense heat. He had been working hard in New York on some scenery, and was greatly fatigued. This morning, Mrs. Armbruster left her husband in the bedroom while she went downstairs to have breakfast prepared. She had been on the lower floor only a few minutes when she heard the report of a revolver, and on going to her husband’s room found him of the bed with a bullet hole in his temple. Mr. Armbruster came from Columbus, Ohio. He had lived in Mamaroneck about eight months. Mrs. Armbruster told Coronoer Wiesendanger that last summer her husband’s mind was affected by the heat” (16 Aug. 1908, page 1).
Starting tomorrow, I will examine one of the major competitors to Sosman & Landis – Armbruster Studios of Columbus, Ohio.
To be continued…
