In 1912, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The Palette and Chisel Club honored me by giving me a big dinner and named me ‘Uncle Tom’ of the Club.” I have explored Moses’ Palette & Chisel Club activities in the past, but will recap today. The next few posts will examine club events and some members.
Founded in 1895, the Palette & Chisel Club was an association of artists and craftsmen for the purpose of work and study. The organization’s members were reported to be “all wage-workers, busy during the week with pencil, brush or chisel, doing work to please other people” (Inland Printer, 1896). But on Sunday mornings, they assembled for five hours to paint for themselves.
In 1906, Thomas G. Moses joined the Palette and Chisel Club in Chicago. Moses wrote, “I don’t know why, as I had so little time to give to pictures, but I live in hopes of doing something some day, that is what I have lived on for years, Hope, and how little we realize from our dreams of hope.” That same year, the Palette & Chisel Club sponsored “Bohemian Night” in honor of Alphonse Mucha, as Mucha was in town teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago that fall. The group was a tightknit community of strong personalities boasting incredible artistic talents.
In 1905, members of the Palette and Chisel Club established a primitive camp at Fox Lake, Illinois. The Palette and Chisel Club camp drew a variety of artists during the summer months, including Moses by 1906. This scenic retreat was formed along the shores of Fox Lake, providing a haven far away from the bustle of studio work in Chicago. There were many Sosman & Landis employees who also became members of the Palette & Chisel Club, strengthening the bonds of friendship during off hours.
In the beginning, the camp was quite rustic. Of the primitive camping experience, Moses wrote, “June 1st, I made my first trip to the Palette and Chisel Club camp at Fox Lake, Ill. Helped to put up the tent. A new experience for me, but I enjoyed it. I slept well on a cot. Made a few sketches. A very interesting place. I don’t like the cooking in the tent and there should be a floor in the tent. I saw a great many improvements that could be made in the outfit and I started something very soon.” Moses soon fixed most of these issues, donating a “portable house” to the camp two years later. In 1908, Moses wrote, “I bought the portable house that we built years ago and at that time we received $300.00 for it. I finally got it for $50.00, some bargain. It cost $25.00 to remove it and we will put it up at Fox Lake in the spring. It has been used in Forest Park all summer to show ‘The Day in the Alps.’ The next year Moses wrote, “As we had put up the portable house in Fox Lake, I was better contented to go up. I gave the camp a portable kitchen and it was some class. I felt sure I would manage to get a camp outfit worth while and the boys all fell in line with me.”
His statement, “…and the boys all fell in line with me” is something to note. It was a common occurrence both in and out of the paint studio for Moses to lead the pack. His charisma, charm and personality facilitated not only business dealings, but also other social activities, Fox Lake being one of the instances where Moses took charge of an artistic group. In 1910, Moses wrote, “Fox Lake appealed to me all summer. I went up as much as possible and made good use of my time. How I wished in vain for time and money to spend all summer sketching. I know I could do something worthwhile.” Regardless of his own opinion, Moses continued to make progress in the eyes of Palette & Chisel Club members.
Although late to the game, he was their beloved leader. Therefore, I have to consider Moses’ earning the designation of “Uncle Tom” in the Palette & Chisel Club in 1912. Was it intended as a compliment or a slight? Was it simply an endearing term given by a bunch of white men who didn’t really understand what “Uncle Tom” signified? Were they simply thinking of Moses as the self-sacrificing figure who put others before himself? By 1913, Moses wrote, “The Palette and Chisel Club boys wanted me to give an exhibit at the club. I always refused, claiming that I am not in the picture game, and paint pictures for pleasure only. September 3rd, a committee came to the house and insisted on going to the studio, I had over three hundred pictures in the studio; some very good but the other 275 were not as good, but the boys seemed to think I had at least 250 good ones, which was quite flattering.” He was in good company, with many members becoming nationally recognized artists over the years. These successful artists maintained close ties, suggesting that they admired and respected him.
Now in regard to the title of “Uncle Tom” for Moses…
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” was still playing theaters throughout the United States in 1912. On April 26, 1912, there was such great interest in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s work and the subsequent theatrical interpretations that the “Quad City Times” included an article entitled, “The Writing of Uncle Tom,” going into depth about the author (page 4). On October 9, 1912, the “Muncie Evening Press” interviewed the “Educated Drug Clerk” about the play (page 8). This individual seems to have offered his view on various topics of the day. The article quoted the Educated Drug Clerk as saying, “It wouldn’t seem right for a theatrical season to go around without one or two ‘Uncle Tom’ shows visiting every town in the circuit…I suppose it is too early yet to say whether or not ‘Uncle Tom’ is to become a classic. The era of slavery has gone and seems far away to some of us. Yet there are thousands of people who remember the dark days. Another century, perhaps, will determine Uncle Tom’s real place in literature. Now I gather from critics that the true work is shown when it has the faculty of living and playing on emotions of men long after the period which produced it has passed. In other words, the classic does not owe its power to the thought of any particular epoch, but must be filled with teachings of real truth which will not change as the centuries roll on.” Of the novel’s characters, the article noted that Uncle Tom was “representative of down trodden humanity.” This again made me ponder the Palette & Chisel Club’s designation of Moses as their “Uncle Tom.”
I cannot read Moses’ entry about his new title without cringing. To look at the group of artists using the term makes it offensive. I cannot think of a single artist in the Palette & Chisel Club at the time that wasn’t white. I cannot think of a single scenic artist mentioned by Moses in his memoirs who wasn’t white, all of which causes me great unease; the same that I felt when I first saw an image of white people in black face makeup. My relatives arrived on the shores of America long after the Civil War ended, yet some of them were racist; some of them still are – and that is a horrifying truth to admit. It was a controversial topic that we discussed in my youth, one that was addressed after many family gatherings. I did not fully understand the extent of racism in my family until during and after the 2016 election. My parents had disagreed with many of the extended family’s views regarding people of color and fought back in various ways over the decades. I was taught that all people are equal. Period. No discussion. I greatly admire my parent s for that, especially my mother, the history teacher, who was very clear about America’s history with slavery and Jim Crowe laws.
Regardless, I am the product of white privilege in the United States and am horrified to witness the current, continued and blatant racial discrimination by our president and some leaders. I am ashamed to realize how many of my family, in-laws, friends, and colleagues continue to discriminate against others based on the color of their skin.
In regard to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1851 novel, which humanized the suffering of slavery, a cruel master beat Tom to death because he refused to betray the whereabouts of other escaped slaves. The novel and subsequent stage productions have been repeatedly analyzed over the decades, with varying nuances in each interpretation. However, I have to wonder how the title was intended when gifted to Thomas G. Moses in 1912. Today, Wikipedia notes, “the term ‘Uncle Tom’ was also used as a derogatory epithet for an exceedingly subservient person, particularly when that person is aware of their own lower-class status based on race. The use of the epithet is the result of later works derived from the original novel.”
Was the title “Uncle Tom” intended as a compliment or slight for Tom Moses in 1912? We will never know.
To be continued…
