Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Attended the installation of the new Pastor, Mr. Van deMulian at the Presbyterian Church. He is from Louisville, Ky.” Moses and his wife were Presbyterians; he attended church whenever he wasn’t on the road. Over the years, he also worked for a variety of religious denominations.
In 1931, Moses added a comment to an 1879 diary entry: “My experience with Church Committees, of all denominations was such that I almost promised myself never to enter another Church. I found a lot of dishonest men that were pillars of the church and naturally I looked upon them as good Christians, and their word should have been as good as their bond.” Let’s look at some of Moses’ church projects that helped shaped his opinion. The first mention of Moses working for churches was in 1875. He was nineteen years old and an artist with limited options. Like many in his profession, he accepted any artistic work that came his way, such as decorative painting projects.
In 1875, Moses wrote, “Very early in the year I packed up and went to Sterling [Illinois] and found a few small halls and churches to decorate. I barely made enough to pay my board at home. I was looked upon at home as a failure and I was anxious to get away – a long way off so I could get into scenic painting.” Sterling was Moses’ hometown and his father greatly disapproved of his career choice. Parental disapproval, however, did not change Moses’ mind and he continued to seek employment as an artist.
By 1876 Moses was working as a decorative painter in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Of the city, he wrote, “[the] Centennial Year found me with a lot of work on hand. Early in the Spring I had established myself as a decorator of fine homes. In July I was very fortunate to receive a contract for doing the decoration on the big Arch on Pearl Street. While doing this work I met a Frenchman named Wardus, who was decorating the St. James Catholic Church. He needed me. I went to work for him, taking charge of the whole job. We had Stations of the Cross, the Christian Martyrs and the Apostles to paint on canvas – these to be mounted on the walls.” In the end, Moses completed the project with and English artists named Tom Brown John H. Young. Of the trio, Moses wrote, “We three, the same age, roomed and chummed together and we had a fine time. And, as I remember, we did some pretty good work. At any rate, this job secured another big church at Jackson, Michigan. Around Christmas found us in that railroad town, busy as bees. We had been advertised by Mr. Wardus as ‘Three young Roman Artists.’ We didn’t look it – we were all quartered at a cheap hotel and we met a great many young people.” The church project in Jackson lasted until the spring of 1877. In the end, the three were not paid several weeks of work and they were stranded, penniless.
Regardless of this unfortunate experience, Moses still continued to contract painting projects for small halls and churches throughout 1878, so plentiful was the work. By 1879 Moses secured a contract for a church at Tampico, Illinois. He recorded that the new structure was on the same foundation from which another building had been blown by a terrific tornado.
In 1880, Moses decorated the Presbyterian Church in Dixon, Illinois. Of the project, Moses wrote, “I did them a good job, but the chairman of the decorating committee was not a man of honest dealings, and I quit the whole Western part of the state in a ‘huff.” This seems to have been the final straw that caused Moses to walk away from working for other many other religious groups. He mentions less than a handful after this.
It was not until 1915 that Moses accepted a few church projects. One was for his hometown of Sterling. Shortly after this project, he secured two other contracts for churches in Youngstown and Akron, Ohio. Then another decade would lapse.
It would be more that a decade later that Moses recorded his final church project. In 1926, he delivered scenery for the new First Presbyterian Church auditorium in Evanston, Illinois.
To be continued…
