Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Saw the “Daughter of the Sun” show, then went to Trenton for Thanksgiving dinner. The Sunday before I left New York, I went down to the Salmagundi Club. Loafed part of the day. Took luncheon there, and got on top of a bus and rode up to the Museum of Art and enjoyed the afternoon with the pictures. Brother Frank was with us at Pitt’s and we again enjoyed the day.”
Moses belonged to many fine art societies and artistic groups during his life, including Chicago’s Palette & Chisel Club and the Laguna Beach Art Association. He joined the Salmagundi Club in 1904.
In 1903, Moses was living in Mount Vernon, New York, and running a successful scenic studio – Moses & Hamilton. He was also taking art lessons from R. M. Shurtleff, a well-known artist and member of the Salmagundi Club. Shurtleff sponsored Moses for membership in 1904. Unfortunately that was the same year that Moses returned to Chicago, accepting the role as vice-president at Sosman & Landis.
In 1917, the same year that Moses took lunch at the Club, the group acquired their new headquarters from William G. Park. They purchased t old Irad Hawley mansion at 47 Fifth Avenue, built in 1852-1853.
Photograph of the Salmagundi Club by Berenice Abbott at Wikimedia commons:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Salmagundi_Club%2C_47_Fifth_Avenue%2C_Manhattan_%28NYPL_b13668355-482716%29.jpg
Many of Moses friends and fellow scenic artists were members of the Salmagundi Club, including Ernest Albert and Harry A. Vincent. In 1932, Moses recalled his studies with Shurtleff writing, “My love for the deep forests led me to the studio of R. M. Shurtleff in New York, whom I considered a wonderful painter of the woods. I was very happy when he consented to take me on as a pupil. When he suggested my joining the famous Salmagundi Club I was doubtful if I could make it. As the picture I gave the club for my initiation fee was sold to one of the club members, this alone placed me in a good position and had I remained in New York instead of coming to Chicago I feel that I would have forged ahead in the higher art, and would have succeeded.” On January 6, 1915, newspapers reported that the artist Shurtleff fell dead of heart disease in front of 860 Ninth Avenue while on an errand for his wife (“The Sun,” 7 Jan. 1915, page 13). He was only 78 years old.
The Salmagundi Club still exists and has an online presence (http://www.salmagundi.org/). Its current website states, “Founded in 1871, the Salmagundi Club is one of the oldest art organizations in the United States. Housed in an historic brownstone mansion in Greenwich Village, New York City, the Club offers programs including art classes, exhibitions, painting demonstrations, and art auctions throughout the year for members and the general public. The Salmagundi facilities include three galleries, a library, an elegant period parlor, and a restaurant and bar with vintage pool tables. All facilities are available for special events and private rentals. The Club owns a collection of over 1,500 works of art spanning its 140 year history and has a membership of nearly 850 artists and patrons. Its members have included important American artists such as Thomas Moran, William Merritt Chase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, N.C. Wyeth and Childe Hassam. Today the Club builds on this legacy by providing a center for the resurgence of representational art in America. The Salmagundi Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.”
The Club’s history page also includes an excerpt from Alexander W. Katlan’s book, “The Salmagundi Club Painting Exhibition Records 1889 to 1939: A Guide to the American Exhibition of Oil Paintings and the Annual Exhibition and Auction Sale of Pictures.” Here is the link: http://www.salmagundi.org/SalmagundiClubHistory.pdf
“Originally formed as the Salmagundi Sketch Club in 1871, the Club adopted its present name a hundred years ago after Washington Irving published his potpourri of wit and wisdom called “The Salmagundi Papers”. The name also serves as the club dining room’s famous “Salmagundi Stew”.
The Club fosters an atmosphere of conviviality that encourages discussions on art and other topics and leads to lasting friendships among both artists members and patrons. While members are mainly residents of the Tri-State area, Salmagundian’s are to be found throughout the Unites States and Canada, as well as such faraway places as London, Amsterdam and Lisbon. Through the years the Club has been the singular gathering place for such great artists as Childe Hassam, William Merrit Chase, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Ogden Pleisner and many others. Honorary members have included such luminaries as Sir Winston Churchill, Buckminister Fuller, Paul Cadmus, Al Hirschfeld, Thomas Hoving and Schuyler Chapin.”
To be continued…
“…when one draws, one paints.” I need to look into Cezanne’s work….I have always wondered if he did scenic work, and to see his figuritive work would be fascinating.