Month: November 2019

For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

I return to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses tomorrow on November 11, 2019. For the past week, I have been sharing my Dry Pigment Facebook Group posts, as it helps illustrate the scenic aesthetic that I write about each day.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during their training. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.

Today’s Dry Pigment post looks at two sketches created by the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, now stored at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. They are part of the Twin City Scenic Company collection and also part of an online database. Although the database has become increasingly difficult to navigate after changing servers recently, it is still worth checking out. Here is the link: https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/search?facet_field=collection_name_s&facets%5Bcollection_name_s%5D%5B%5D=Scenic+Collections

For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during their training. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.

Today’s Dry Pigment post looks at a backdrop created at the Twin City Scenic Drapery Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, now stored at the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.

I teach a specific class for Rachel Keebler at Cobalt Studios in New York once a year. Over the course of three and a half days, I lecture on historic scene painting, train students in handling dry pigment, and explain painting techniques while students complete several dry pigment projects.

The class goes far beyond replicating a few historic compositions, with me offering suggestions along the way for a successful completion. We look in depth at color characteristics, value placement, compositional layout and brush stroke.  In each case the individual projects are tailored to each student, regardless of their skill level. I hate having an entire class replicate the exact same piece, and try to give each student as much power as possible to make it their own, or do a variation on a theme.  We all move in the same direction so that students can reference each other as we progress. Gray-scale images in addition to an original color source help when students opt for alternative color schemes.

For this particular class, none of the students had ever mixed dry pigment and size water (diluted hide glue) together for scenic art. In itself, this is a challenge. The wet dry pigment colors on the palette may not even remotely resemble their dry version is on the canvas. Also, many of the colors contain a high dye content and can bleed through or interact poorly with other colors.  Part of each class is to complete a color wheel, exploring the various color interactions, reinforcing what we discuss. 

This year we started the class with painting two water compositions. By the end of the first day, we had explored glazing, opaque washes, and the necessary value contrast to suggest water movement.

The second day, we looked at painting techniques for glass and metal, painting two contrasting projects.

The third day we completed a shield that integrated all of the painting techniques explored in the previous two days.

Our final half-day was a time for completion, reflection, looking at other brush strokes required for other compositions and clean up. In other qwords, if a student finished early by day four, I asked, “What do you want to learn now?”  In some cases it may be foliage or draperies.

This was a really good group of personalities. After a full day of painting and group meals, many students returned to the studio to work on their projects. It says a lot about the enthusiasm of the students. Overall, it was a delightful experience and I can’t wait to return next year.

For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during their training, or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.

Today’s Dry Pigment post looks at the source, design and final backdrop created at the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the opera house in Milton, North Dakota

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For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during , or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.

Today’s Dry Pigment post depicts an asbestos curtain produced by a the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the opera house in Virginia, Minnesota.

Have a great day! – Wendy

For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during their training, or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.  

Today’s Dry Pigment post depicts a palace interior produced by a the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

For well over a year I have posted a historic stage setting every day to my Facebook group “Dry Pigment.” This post is then shared with other groups for digital dissemination, but not here. I often group stage compositions on a theme, posting one version after another over the course of a week. In the past I have covered landscapes, seascapes, palaces, dungeons, hell scenes, cathedrals, and much more. The images are often from scenery evaluations that I completed over the past few decades while traveling throughout the United States of America.

While I take a break from the life and time of Thomas G. Moses until November 11, 2019, I am going to share my Dry Pigment FB Group posts. It helps illustrated the scenic aesthetic that I have been writing about for over three years.

I primarily post daily pictures of historic backdrops each day for my fellow scenic artists, many of whom were not exposed to this history during , or friends who are completely unfamiliar with this form of American popular entertainment. I always hope that this small and consistent gesture will help others with their future projects and research.  

Today’s Dry Pigment post depicted a landscape produced by a Minneapolis Scenic studio that also had regional branches in other cities, such as Detroit, Michigan.

Have a great day!

I transfer planes in Detroit today on my way to teach at Cobalt Studios in White Lake, New York. It seems an appropriate time to include this particular post about Thomas G. Moses before taking a week off from writing. I will return to the life and times of Thomas G. Moses on Monday, November 10, 2019.

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Detroit again. New contract with Temple Theatre Company.” Sosman & Landis first delivered scenery to Detroit’s Temple theatre in 1908. The Elks Temple and Temple Theatre originally opened on Dec. 23, 190, and was next door to the Detroit opera house. Located on the north side of Monroe Street in the Campus Martius area, the building boasted a 1500-seat theater designed by Col. J.M. Wood. The Temple Theatre originally hosted the Wonderland Theatre Company and curiosity museum of oddities before the 1908 renovation. Sosman & Landis painted a drop curtain as part of an extensive renovation.

In 1908, the Temple Theatre closed for three weeks during July to complete the renovation of the theater space.  On July 2, 1908, the “Detroit Free Press” reported, “Sosman & Landis, the scene painters of Chicago, are in consultation with the William Wright artists carry out in the new drop curtain, to cost $1,000.” The same newspaper further described the new drop curtain on July 26, 1908: “Beyond all this the proscenium arch a mass of burnished gold and set within like a picture in its frame is the new drop curtain – a splendid thing the product of Sosman & Landis scenic studios in Chicago.  It pictures an old Italian garden, the spirit of the joy-seeking Renaissance caught here in every other part of the theater.  Here too the predominating note is blue with only the suggestion of green in the foliage and a hint of old rose in the costumes of the grand dames, which lend the desired touch of life to the stately old garden.  It’s all brightly beautiful and happy thought and ideal as a playhouse should be, and proves with subtle insistence that those responsible for it are artists in a very substantial and satisfying sense” (page 7).

In 1909 and 1910, Sosman & Landis again completed a large scenery projects for Detroit’s Temple Theatre, as the venue hosted touring productions. Much of the firm’s success was based on repeat customers, the return of satisfied customers who ordered additional scenery over the years.  Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio was a well-known entity by the first decade of the twentieth century. The fact that the Temple Theatre ordered more scenery in 1913 is not a surprise, especially with Sosman & Landis’ continued work in the city at various venues.

From the very beginning of Moses’ scenic art career, he had completed many projects in Detroit. Later in 1913, Moses reminisced, “I made a business trip to Detroit and Cleveland in July.  I left Detroit for Cleveland by the night boat.  As I sat on the upper forward deck enjoying a good cigar, my thoughts ran back to 1875, when I was in Detroit broke with no place to go, nothing to do.  I sat down on the dock, just below where I was now sitting and wondered if I would be missed and forgiven for falling off the dock.  I was either too much of a coward or had a sudden change of heart, for I went on the road very soon afterwards as a ‘butcher’ another name for candy or newsboy on the railroad.  A young man was sitting near me and to open the conversation for the evening, I told him the above.  He was very much interested, and I found that he knew some of my Oak Park friends, so we put in a very pleasant evening as we sailed or steamed towards Cleveland.”

Our minds often wander back to trying times, whether past events, places or friends. Past obstacles that seemed unbearable became our defining moments. Challenges can provide an opportunity for growth.  In 1875, Moses made a choice; he refused to give up and end it all on the docks of Detroit. Thirty-eight years later, he recognized that moment as a defining one in his life.

When I read this passage as a young college student, it shaped my perspective for many future trials. I was nineteen years old and constantly working in between classes.  Reading of Moses’ continued struggles made any of my own problems pale in comparison.  Although there was that brief period where I lived out of my car and solely ate ramen noodles, I could always return home if I really needed help. Moses could not, yet persevered anyway. I also recognize that some people cannot overcome some obstacles, regardless of a support network.

I made a conscious choice to succeed, regardless of what life threw at me. For me success was never defined by acquiring a large fortune or living in a fancy house, but how I could make myself better and how I could clear the path for those who came after me. That is one of the reasons that I post so many pictures of historic scenes every day, for my fellow scenic artists who may have never been exposed to this history. I hope that this small and consistent gesture will help my colleagues.  

To be continued…

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses recorded that Sosman & Landis delivered scenery for Moss and Brills’ new theatre in New York. Moss & Brill had two theaters in New York, the Eighty-sixth Street and the DeKalb.  The theatrical management firm also opened two theaters during January 1913. Both were combination houses, bringing the total number of theaters owned by Moss & Brill up to five, according to newspapers.

The Hamilton Theatre opened on January 23 and the Jefferson theatre opened on January 25. On January 24, 1913, the “Brooklyn Citizen” included an article about Moss & Brill’s new Hamilton Theatre:

“THE HAMILTON OPENS.

Moss and Brill’s new Hamilton Theatre, which is located at 146^th street and Broadway, Manhattan, had its opening last night. A fine program consisting of eight vaudeville numbers was presented. At the conclusion there were calls for the management, but the demands for a speech were not answered. The new institution is a handsome building, seating about two thousand persons, and will be devoted to vaudeville at popular prices. Friends of those interested in the new enterprise expressed their feelings by sending numerous large bouquets. A handsome souvenir programme was distributed.”

The second venue opened by Moss & Brill that January was the Jefferson Theatre. The Jefferson Theatre was slightly larger than the Hamilton Theatre, with a 3,000 seating capacity. It was located on the edge of what is now known as the East Village, at 214 E. 14^th Street. The narrow entrance was between two tenement buildings was the entrance, leading to the main auditorium in the back of the building, situated near E. 13^th Street. Over the years The Jefferson Theatre became known as the RKO Jefferson Theatre. It did not survive, however, and was demolished in 2000.

“The New York Times” announced the opening of the venue on 26 Jan. 1913: “The Jefferson Theatre, the second of the new houses to be opened by Moss & Brill vaudeville producers, was opened to the public last night. It is at Fourteenth Street and Third Avenue. George Kiester, architect of the Cohan, Belasco, Astor and Hamilton Theatres, designed the Jefferson. A feature in its construction is the span of 90 feet of balcony and orchestra entirely unobstructed by posts or pillars. The Hamilton Theatre at 146^th Street and Broadway were opened by the same firm on Thursday night. It is a marble building with a frontage of 100 feet on Broadway. It has only one balcony, but is equipped with twenty-four boxes, and will seat approximately 2,500. The color scheme is gold and brown. Both houses will resent continuous performances from 1 to 11 of vaudeville and moving pictures” (page 44):

Both the Hamilton and Jefferson theaters were completed at a cost of $1,000,000 and listed as “popular price” venues. The “Evening World” reported, “With the other Moss & Brill house, the Eighty-sixth Street Theatre, and the Cunningham & Fluegelman theatres, the McKinley Square, in the Bronx, and the DeKalb, in Brooklyn, seating capacity for more than 12,000 persons will be provided and an outlay in buildings and ground of more than $3,000,000 represented” (The Evening World, New York, 18 Jan. 1913, page 6).

The history of Moss & Brill is integral in the establishment of a new theatre circuit that appeared in 1912. That year newspapers announced the establishment of the Consolidated Booking Offices of America.  The new company consolidated the interests of Moss & Brill and Fluegelmen & Cunningham, both of New York, with the Sheehan and Olympia circuits of New England, taking the title Sheedy and Affiliated Vaudeville Circuit.  The company controlled about thirty weeks of vaudeville bookings from New York to Portland, Maine. Two weeks later, the newly formed Sheedy and Affiliated Vaudeville Circuit united their interests with the Theatre Booking Corporation, of Chicago; the Charles H. Miles Circuit of Detroit and Cincinnati, and the Klein & Crawford Circuit that extended from St. Louis to Omaha, to form the Consolidated Booking Offices of America. On August 16, 1912, the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” reported, “Combination of Independent ‘Small-Time’ Vaudeville Gains Ground.” This consolidation of smaller circuits resulted in vaudeville artists being able to secure contracts for fifty-six weeks of solid bookings instead of only thirty, meaning “headliners” from previously bigger circuits, were able to appear for the first time at popular prices.

The Consolidated Booking Offices of America incorporation papers were filed in Albany, New York in 1912 and the new company had a suite of twelve offices in the George M. Cohan Theatre Building in New York City, on Broadway, near Forty-third street. They featured popular-priced vaudeville, thus necessitating the use of venues with large-seating capacities of 2,000 or more to generate significant profits.

The new circuit also landed a major deal with Kinemacolor in De Kalb that year (see past posts #822-823 about Kinemacolor movies). On Feb. 1, 1913, “The Chat” announced “By the purchase of rights in Greater New York to exhibit the kinemacolor photo plays and motion pictures, Messrs. Cunningham and Fluegelman, proprietors of the DeKalb [Theatre], with their partners in the Consolidated Booking Offices, Messrs. Moss and Brill, now own the rights in this city outside of a small strip on Broadway from 34^th street to Columbus Circle” (Brooklyn, New York, page 42). Instead of the current prices for Kinemacolor that ranged from $0.50 to $1.50, the prices at the DeKalb Theatre were $0.25.

Change was in the air for popular entertainment as the moving picture industry continued to gain ground, offering theatre managers with an opportunity.

“The Evening World” answered the question “Why new theatres of this type are needed on January 18, 1913 (page 6): “It is the general opinion that the metropolis is already overstocked with theatre, and just now Broadway and its adjacent territory has more than can be filled. And yet more are being built, while the dramatic field is overstocked. The same may be said of the popular-price houses. There are hundreds of these, including the ‘motion picture’ houses, and one would naturally infer that the field is over worked. But Mr. Moss and Mr. Brill were the first to see the possibilities of building modern fireproof theatres to supply the ever-increasing demand for popular amusement at popular prices.”

To be continued…

In 1913, Thomas G. Moses write, “We did Harris Theatre, Pittsburgh, for New York studio…”

The Harris Theatre in Pittsburgh was a vaudeville house managed by John P. Harris. “The Pittsburgh Press” described Harris as “a pioneer in amusements within reach of the masses, active in the industrial world and a leader in clean sports. He opened and successfully operated Pittsburgh’s first ‘nickelodeon.’ When that form of motion picture entertainment was laying the foundation of the present motion picture business, and later expanded his operations to cater to all classes of cinema entertainment. Mr. Harris was among the first to enter the field in low-priced vaudeville. He provided Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania cities with a chain of theaters. He provided Pittsburgh and western Pennsylvania cities with a chain of theaters, featured with low admission prices. Later he entered the higher priced amusement field and became associated with the most important figures in the vaudeville, photoplay and legitimate stage circles. Mr. Harris was vice president of Harry Davis Enterprises Co. and president of the various Harris Amusement companies, operating a chain of theatres throughout western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. These companies included the Harris Amusement Co. of Pittsburgh, the Harris Amusement Co. of Pennsylvania, the Harris Amusement Co. of Michigan and various other associated interests in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Louisville. He also was vice president and director of the Washington Trust Co. and a director of the Pittsburgh’s baseball club” (27 Jan 1926, page 1). Harris later became a state senator in 1922

The Harris Theatre in Pittsburgh was mentioned in an advertisement published in the “Cincinnati Enquirer” on May 30, 1918. It cited the Harris Theatre as “Pittsburgh’s Leading Playhouse Theatre” (page 16). It described fire safety materials employed during the construction: “It will be noted in the following that the use of THE EDWARDS MANUFACTURING CO.’S CELLULAR STEEL and KEYRIDGE in the construction of this handsome new playhouse will make it one of the most safe and fireproof temples of amusement in the country. Every newspaper remembers with horror the terrible catastrophe, which a few years ago blotted out the Iroquois Theatre in Chicago, sacrificing many lives and injuring hundreds. This has caused theatrical managers all over the country to provide again a recurrence of this horror, with the result that CELLULAR STEEL AND KEYRIDGE have been specified in great numbers of edifices where the builder looks to the safety, comfort and absolutely fireproof qualities in his building. The main floor and roof of this new Harris Theatre is a CELLUAR METAL construction, the balcony, galleries and all partitions and suspended ceiling of KEYRIDGE. This material can be used in the building of modern homes, office or flat buildings and for garages.”

To be continued…