Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. John Z. Wood, Scenic Artist (1846-1919)

Copyright © 2018 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

For the past few weeks, I have been posting some of the scenic art designs by John Z. Wood; designs that he completed for the Twin City Scenic Co of Minneapolis, MN. Here is the fascinating tale of this primarily unknown artist. His artistic gifts were extraordinary and his life has been all but forgotten.

John Z. Wood was born in England and moved to London, Ontario as a small child. His family moved again when he was eleven years old, taking up permanent residence in Rochester, New York. Wood enlisted in the 1^st Battalion of the New York National Guards, Light Artillery, on August 2, 1864 and served until his discharged on Nov. 22 of that same year. Returning to Rochester after the Civil War, Wood initially worked as a decorative painter at Lang’s Children Carriage Factory and then as a sign painter for Frank Van Doorn.

In the late 1860s, Wood joined a local art club called the Goose Grease Club, attending informal gatherings at the studio of William Lockhart in Rochester’s Palmer building. By the 1870s, Wood had opened his own private studio at the Baker building, sharing the space with Lockhart. Seth C. Jones later joined their studio. During this same time he also worked for the Mensin, Rahn, and Stecher Lithographic Co., later known as Stecher Lithographic Co. , known for its beautiful fruit crate labels and nurserymen crates. After becoming a fairly well- ecognized artist, Wood worked as an instructor for the Mechanics Institute in Rochester.

By 1872, Wood helped found the Rochester Sketch Club along with James Hogarth Dennis (1839-1914), J. Guernsey Mitchell (1854-1921), James Somerville (1849-1905), Harvey Ellis (1852-1904), and William Lockhart (1846-1881). Wood, however, was the instigator, organizer and promoter of the group. Within five years, club became the Rochester Art Club. In 1874, the Rochester Academy of Art, also emerged as an offshoot of the Rochester Sketch Club. The Rochester Art Club incorporated in 1882, with Wood not only serving as Treasurer (1877-1882), but also Vice President (1889-1891) and President (1894). In 1883, a newspaper review described Wood’s contribution to the Rochester Art Club. Of his oil painting depicting two boys fishing, the review commented, “It gives him opportunity to apply his knowledge of anatomical drawing and his skill in producing excellent color effects. It is one of Mr. Wood’s best productions” (Democrat and Chronicle, 20 May 1883, page 4).

For the Club’s educational oferings, a room was secured at the Rochester Savings Bank Building. This became their headquarters with a small faculty consisting of Horatio Walker (water color), James H. Dennis (oil), John Z. Wood (drawing), Harvey Ellis (composition), and Ida C. Taylor (painting).  By 1890, the Rochester City Directory  listed Wood as a designer.

However, in 1892 the Directory listed John Z. Wood as “removed to Chicago, Ill.” That year, Wood traveled to the Chicago World Fair with fellow artist James Somerville. Life was on the up and up, and it was around this time that Wood became a member of New York’s Salmagundi Club, the same fine art group that Thomas G. Moses joined in 1904. Their paths possibly crossed during the turn-of-the-century in either Chicago or New York.

The first mention of John Z. Wood as a scenic artist, however, is in 1889.  That year, he and Dennis Flood painted scenery for the H. R. Jacobs Opera House in Syracuse, New York. It was quite a lucrative contract and Flood would later be noted as Wood’s “life-time friend.” Newspaper articles noted that the pair painted not only a 25’ x 28’ drop curtain, but also the stock scenery. The drop curtain depicted an elaborate conservatory with a tropical garden view in the distance. Spending several weeks on site, they painted remaining stock sets that included a palace exterior, a fancy interior, a dark wood exterior, a classical garden, a rocky pass, a mountain landscape, a pastoral landscape, and a lakeside exterior. He dabbled in the theater while continuing to work as a fine artist, designer and art instructor, saving up what money he could.

Despite his success in fine art and some early theatre designs, Wood’s career hit a major obstacle in 1896 that resulted in a substantial financial loss. Wood had a financially devastating incident that involved his stepson Howard C. Tuttle, one that ended in family betrayal and subsequent financial ruin. Wood had known his stepson since he was born on Nov. 12, 1874. In 1875, Wood lived with the Tuttles; boarding with Charles, Nellie (Evalyn) and their newborn son Howard. It was short lived as Charles left Nellie, married his mistress Rosalie Graves and celebrated the birth of his second child Lillian that same year. Nellie and Howard C. moved in with her parents, Horace C. and Esther Rose; her father was a painter. Interestingly, Wood was now a boarder at the Rose home. Wood eventually married Nellie by 1886 and helped raise her son.

On July 30, 1896, Rochester’s “Democrat and Chronicle” reported, “Bad Predicament of a Young Man.  Horace C. Tuttle Spent the Money of His Parents.  His Arrest Followed.  The Man Represented to Them That He Wanted the Money to Engage in Business in New York – Taken on a Minor Charge” (page 9). Tuttle was arrested at Batavia on a charge of skipping a board bill and that’s when the truth came out about his financial antics.  The article reported that “Young Tuttle’s” home was at No. 17 Chestnut Street with his stepfather, John Z. Wood, who is an artist with a studio in the Reynold’s Arcade.”  In short, Tuttle became dissatisfied with “his small salary and the hard work he had to do” at Miler’s Piano Store and made up his mind to do business on a larger scale.  He unfolded to his stepfather and his mother the outlines of a plan that he said would make him speedily rich, telling his parents that he had been engaged as a traveling salesman with Newby & Evans, piano dealers in New York city, and that it would take some money to get started.  The cash was forthcoming and the young man departed for New York in high glee. He soon pretended to be a member of the firm, getting his foster parent to furnish even more money.  You can already see how this ends; the son doesn’t visit home, the parents get worried and contact his supposed employer, only to learn that their son doesn’t work there at all. In the end, the Tuttles lost $4,000, today’s equivalent $110,000.00 today.

This event was like let the instigator that prompted Wood to seek employment at theaters. At that time, being a scenic artist was a very lucrative profession, if one was good and fast. The substantial amount that one could make producing a variety of painted scenes was indicated in the business records of Thomas G. Moses. A good scenic artist was making today’s equivalent of 175,000-200,000 dollars a year.

In 1898, Wood was actively working as a scenic artist and painting scenery alongside Gates & Morange at the New Baker Theatre in New York City. He produced all of the exterior scenery for the venue, while Gates & Morange completed the borders, trips, and other specialty drops. Wood soon became an itinerant scenic artist and followed the work as theatres continued to spring up in the western United States and Canada. In 1901, the Rochester City Directory listed Wood as a “scenic painter.” By 1906, he also helped organize an association of Rochester painters known as the Picture Painters’ Club (Democrat and Chronicle, 15 Feb. 1901, page 8). The club was designed solely for working artists, similar to Chicago’s Palette and Chisel Club.

Wood began traveling throughout the country and working as a scenic artist for various theaters. He travels brought him to Winnipeg, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. However, by 1907, Wood left Rochester, although the city directory continued to list him as a scenic artist there. For the 1908-1909 season, Wood was listed as the staff scenic artist at the Winnipeg Theatre.  Winnipeg was the northern terminus of the railway and provided an excellent opportunity for Wood to work. It also connected him to the Twin Cities in Minnesota. After painting for the Winnipeg Theatre, Wood journey to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and painted scenery for a variety of venues. Another Rochester Art Club founder, Harvey Ellis, had settled in the St. Paul, Minnesota, during 1886, working throughout the region for seven years before returning to Rochester.  Some of Ellis’ designs include the Mabel Tainter Memorial Building in Menomonie, Wisconsin, and Pillsbury Hall, at the University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis (East Bank). 

It was in Minneapolis that Wood worked for the Twin City Scenic Company. Several of Wood’s designs for drop curtains are currently part of the Twin City Scenic Co. Collection, Performing Arts Archives at the University of Minnesota Libraries. The backs of some designs include the name Robert J. Mork, a salesman for the Twin City Scenic Co. A few of Wood’s paintings also have competitive scenic studio stamps and markings on the backs, such as the Great Western Stage Equipment Co.

By 1911, Wood was again living in the Rochester, with the Directory listing him as a “scene painter.”

In 1917 he was “recognized as a scenic painter for the Masonic Temple and other theaters in the city” (Rochester Art Club history records). His work was for the new 1917 Masonic Temple building that included a theatre on the third floor.

Only two years after his return to Rochester, Wood was reported as suffering from “cardio vascular renal” at the Sellwood hospital in Portland, Oregon, as reported by the “Oregon Daily Journal.” However, this would not be a contributing factor to his death two years later. In 1919, Wood’s name would appear in the newspaper one final time when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident. On November 13, 1919, George C. Newel caused the death of John Z. Wood, residing at No. 144 South Ave. Wood was hit by Newell’s automobile when crossing the street. The court ruled against Newell as he was driving too fast and unable to stop in time. Wood was only 72 years old.

The Rochester Art Club records that Wood was “known for his sense of humor, ability at mimicry, and telling a good story.”

To be continued…