Part 731: Drop Curtains in Philadelphia, 1894 – Alfred Voegtlin and the Old Walnut Street Theatre
One section of the 1894 article “Well-known Drop Curtains in Philadelphia Theatres” focused on the scenic art of Arthur Voegtlin, William M. Voegtlin’s eldest son. It was published in “The Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec. 18, 1894. Although the artist in the article is listed as Alfred, I believe it was a misprint. The only Alfred Voegtlin that I have encountered to date was a political figure from the 1920s. On the other hand, Arthur Voegtlin was a scenic artist who began his career in New York and rose to fame as not only a scenic artist, but also a producer, playwright, and actor.
Here is the section about Voegtlin’s work for the old Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia:
“Looped up at the corners and hanging down on either side of the ‘drop’ are skillfully painted silken curtains surmounted by crimson velvet hangings bordered by a broad band of royal ermine. Manager Frank Howe, Jr. has had a new curtain painted for the historic old Walnut Street Theatre, representing “A Change of Horses at the Red Lion Inn.” It was painted by Alfred Voegtlin of New York, the scene being taken from the famous watercolor by F. F. English. In the foreground, drawn up in front of the inn, is the coach Alert, owned by Colonel Edward Morrell.”
In regard to the subject matter, Frank F. English (1854-1922) was born in Kentucky and mainly remembered for his watercolors. English’s artworks primarily depicted life along the Delaware River. In regard to the scenic artist who replicated English’s painting, “A Change of Horses at the Red Lion Inn,” Arthur was part of a well-known scenic art family that thrived during the late nineteenth century.
Arthur Voegtlin was born on Nov. 8, 1858, in Chicago, Illinois. He and his brother Emil trained with their father, William R. Voegtlin. In the 1880s, there were three Voegtlin’s painting scenery across the country. Arthur Voegtlin was painting at the Grand Opera House in Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh Daily Post, 28 Jan., 1888, page 5). William Voegtlin was painting at the Chicago Opera House (Oakland Tribune, 14 Jan, 1889, page 1). Emil was painting at various theaters in between jail sentences.
William’s son, Emile, started out as his father’s assistant before breaking out on his own and primarily working as a scenic artist at the New York Hippodrome. Unfortunately, Emil was arrested a few times over the course of his career. Amazingly, his criminal activities as a boarding-house and hotel thief, his criminal activities are documented in “Revised biographies based on NYPD Chief Thomas Byrnes 1886 book, ‘Professional Criminals of America’” (https://criminalsrevised.blog/2018/07/20/47-emile-voegtlin/). Emil was described as “Medium build. Height, 5 feet 10 inches. Weight, 155 pounds. Brown hair, hazel eyes, dark complexion. Wears black mustache and side-whiskers. Has a very genteel appearance.”
In 1882, Emil was convicted of larceny, and sentenced to five years in State prison on January 4, 1884. He was stealing jewelry from hotel residents where he was staying, the Irving House in Tarrytown. This was not the end of his trouble, being released from Sing Sing prison in 1888 and returning to scenic artwork, he was again convicted for larceny and was convicted another three years at the State Penitentiary in Jackson, Michigan. Yet he continued to return to scenic art. Only after the death of his father, did Emil purportedly cease his criminal activities. Here is a link to the full case, as it is quite interesting: https://criminalsrevised.blog/2018/07/20/47-emile-voegtlin/
Arthur followed a far different trajectory from his brother. In 1914, the “Indianapolis Star” reported, “Mr. Voegtlin, who has a world-wide reputation as one of the greatest living scenic artists and who has invented more ingenious stage ‘effects’ than any one else engaged in that line of endeavor” (15 Nov. 1914, page 15). The “Hartford Courant referred to Voegtlin as “the ‘man behind’ the world’s largest theater, the designer, devisor and inventor of the ten colossal spectacles which have been presented at that playhouse [New York Hippodrome] since it first became an established institution in the metropolis” (3 Jan. 1915, page 17).
Of his work, Voegtlin was quoted as saying, “Realism – that’s the keynote of my work. I suppose if Max Reinhardt were to produce ‘Pinafore’ he would give us a violet ship with red trimmings on a purple sea. That sort of impressionistic art is a joke, in my opinion. Bad drawing and clashing colors produce nothing except a discord to me. I believe in appealing to the imagination, but I believe in making the appeal a sane one. I believe in sane art. Put me down, if you like, as an apostle of artistic realism. My father was a noted scene painter and I was brought up with orthodox ideals as to scene painting and stage settings. Thank heaven they abide with me. We spend nearly $250,000 every year at the Hippodrome before the curtain goes up. My art has to be sane.”
Voetgtlin’s Broadway credits as a scenic designer include: “The Talisman” (1893), “The Old Coat” (1898), “A Day and a Night in New York” (1898), “My Innocent Boy” (1899), “Janice Meredith” (1900), “On the Quiet” (1901), “Don Caesar’s Return” (1901), “The Diplomat” (1902), “King Dodo” (1902), “The Crisis” (1902), “The Bishop’s Move” (1903), “Harriet’s Honeymoon” (1904), “The Beauty Doctor” (1905), “The Society Circus” (1905), “The House of Silence” (1906), “About Town” (1906), “The White Hen” (1907), “The Girl Behind the Counter” (1907), “The Gay White Way” (1907), “The Auto Race” (1907), “The Battle of Port Arthur” (1907), “Nearly a Hero” (1908), “The Mimic World” (1908), “Three Wishes” (1908), “Sporting Days” (1908), “Mr. Hamlet of Broadway” (1908), “Havana” (1909), “The Jolly Bachelors” (1910), “The King of Cadonia” (1910), “The Summer Widowers” (1910), “The International Cup, the Ballet of Niagara, and the Earthquake” (1910), “Around the World” (1911), “The Never Homes” (1911), “Under Many Flags” (1912), “The Pleasure Seekers” (1913), “Wars of the World (1914), and “H.M.S. Pinafore” (1914).
Voegtlin also designed many of the facades and interiors at Luna Park, even staging “The Great Train Robbery.” Years later the Miami News commented, “While he didn’t make any money on that enterprise, he revealed a trait of character which indicated all that was necessary to make his pile was a lease on life long enough for him to produce something that the public would buy. It was hardly a custom in those good old days, Wells Hawks writes about now and then, for a showman to reward his backers with anything but congratulations, unless the box office receipts were such as to defy secretion. But Voegtlin was a different type. He was entitled to the rating of a square shooter when he returned to the syndicate of lawyers who had backed him money which they had to all intents and purposes kissed goodbye” (The Miami News, 28 March 1926, page 43).
Voegtlin became a stage producer and producing director from the opening of the New York Hippodrome, 1904-1918 (Wilmington Daily Press, Wilmington, California, 19 June 1948, page 7).
Voegtlin set his sites on another adventure – opening the Theater Fontaia near Arch Creek in Florida on Jan. 16, 1926. His associate was Charles A. Pearson. It was an immense theater with a Spanish village and cabaret behind the stage, building a theatre in the woods, far from the metropolitan center of Miami. It was a theatrical colony. There were 200 people in the organization that Voegtlin brought to Florida, causing him to erect four dormitories that contained 26 rooms each, called the “Barracks.”
He later moved to Hollywood, where he enjoyed a career as an actor, writer and director. Arthur was listed as both a writer and actor in the early film “America,” (1914). Voegtlin married to Maude Caldwell and their son, Arthur Caldwell Voegtlin (1904-1982), followed in his father’s film footsteps and became a director. His son later changed his name to Jack Voglin.
Arthur Voegtlin Sr. passed away in Los Angeles in 1948.
To be continued…
