In 1911, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Pausback had his hands full; Scott acted bad.” Moses was referring an extremely busy period at Sosman & Landis. Nicholas J. Pausback and Frederick J. Scott were both painting for Moses at the Sosman & Landis Annex Studio on 20th Street that year.
Yesterday, I explored at the life of future studio founder Nicholas J. Pausback. Today, I look at the life of scenic artist Frederick J. Scott. “Fred” Scott was noted for his ability being able to paint any type of subject matter, a great asset to Sosman & Landis studio in 1911, considering the scope of their work. A naturalized citizen, Scott was born England on Aug. 16, August 1860. This made him four years Moses’ junior. In 1904, Moses was 48 years old, with Scott Being 42; both were journeymen artists. The personality of Scott, however, continually rubbed Moses the wrong way and their personalities clashed for years.
When Moses returned to Sosman & Landis in 1904, he had just closed a successful business in New York City known as Moses & Hamilton. Keep in mind that from 1900-1904, Moses worked with Will F. Hamilton on a variety of projects for many well-known stage personalities and producers. Regardless of Moses’ achievements and success in New York, however, Joseph S. Sosman desperately needed Moses to return to Chicago. Sosman had remained shorthanded after the retirement of Perry Landis. Ill heath had prompted Landis to leave the studio in 1902, and Sosman had taken over many of Landis’ sales and administrative duties. Sosman need someone to fill his own role as shop supervisor and realized that Moses was the only one who could do it. Moses had worked with Sosman since the beginning and knew the running of the studio just as well as its founders. Although Moses repeatedly left Sosman & Landis during the late nineteenth century to start various partnerships, he always returned when Sosman or Landis needed help.
Back to Fred Scott. Moses’ 1904 return did not sit well with all of the studio artists in Chicago, especially Scott. It was at this point that Moses became vice-president of the Sosman & Landis, a company shareholder and was given complete aesthetic control over all projects, supervising the design, construction, painting and installation of everything. In a sense, Moses was handed the world on a silver palette and many of the scenic artists resented Sosman’s preferential treatment of Moses. That year, Moses wrote, “When Mr. Sosman announced to the ‘gang’ that I was coming back and would take charge of all the work, there was much dissention among a few.” Moses continued, “Fred Scott tried to start a mutiny and quit, hoping the others would follow. But none did, and he came back. I put him on for he was a clever painter.” Unfortunately, Moses’ bringing Scott back on for his skill did not erase existing tensions between the two.
Little is known of Frederick J. Scott beyond a few newspaper articles and some public records. In 1891, Scott worked for Albert, Grover & Burridge. He was one of the decorators for the Beckwith Memorial Theatre in Dowagiac, Michigan, a landmark theater in terms of decoration and innovation. Scott secured employment with Albert, Grover & Burridge before bringing his family to America. Remember that Walter Wilcox Burridge had previously partnered with Moses to form Burridge, Moses & Louderback in 1887. All three studio owners were good friends with Moses, as scenic artists shifted from one shop to another.
Census records from 1900 list Scott living at 5019 Turner Street, Chicago Ward, Cook County, Illinois. His occupation is that of “artist.” Scott was the grandson of William and Sarah Scott, with his father being John Scott. Scott’s wife’s name was Ethel (b. Oct. 1868) and the two were married in England in1890, soon moving to the United States. The couple had four children living at home in 1900: Marjory (b. May 1890.), Granville (b. April 1895) Edwin (b. Feb. 1899) and Bobs Victor (b. May 1900).
To be continued…
