Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1919, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Found the new studio in good shape and we will be able to get a lot of work, as it is so far ahead of the Peltz and Carson Studio.” This was written in July. Since September Moses had been looking for a new studio on behalf of New York Studios. On September 1, 1918, he resigned as president at Sosman & Landis and began working for the firm, but he only lasted a year. This is not surprising as New York Studios was run by former Sosman & Landis employee David H. Hunt. Hunt established New York Studios as an eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis in 1910. It wasn’t really a regional branch; as Sosman & Landis had previously established regional branches, such as Kansas City Scenic Co. run by Lem Graham.
New York Studios was different; a separate entity that really seemed to take advantage of the Sosman & Landis name, labor and resources, giving little in return. This always irked Moses, so I have to wonder what caused Moses to quit and work for a man who he really didn’t like at all. However, Hunt had lured Moses away from Sosman & Landis before, but a long time before – 1894. This was when there was a lull in business after the Columbian exposition; Sosman & Landis scenic artists scrambled for any outside work after weekly wages were ridiculously reduced from a drop in demand. Of his 1894 departure, Moses wrote, “Sosman and Landis didn’t like my being with Hunt as they felt I was slipping away again, which I did.”
From the fall of 1918 to the summer of 1919 Moses spent much of his time looking for an acceptable studio, finally renting the Peltz and Carsen space in Chicago on behalf of New York Studios. Unfortunately, Moses only benefited from the new studio for little over a month. By September 1919, Moses wrote, “A new contract was entered into between the Chicago Studios and myself for one year.” So, what happened?
That summer Moses wrote “Our work kept up very good at the studio.” New York Studio projects include settings for the Pittsburgh Shrine, Denver Shrine, Pittsburgh’s Albin Theatre Albin Theatre. It all seemed to be going well until just after he went on a sketching trip with Alex DeBeers.
It has taken me a while to recognize something, a pattern in Moses’ career. Change for Moses always occurred after spending an extended period of time with a close friend, a fellow scenic artist, or his after painting a series of fine art piece. It seems as though there was some type of conversation (whether inner dialogue or chat with a colleague) that suggested work would be better elsewhere. Moses left the employ of Sosman & Landis four times between 1880-1904. When he finally returned in 1904, he lasted until 1918, but this was when he became vice-president and then later president of the company. Right before each decision to leave the company, Moses was working away from the main studio, possibly thinking that there were greener pastures elsewhere, so I began to contemplate his departures from Sosman & Landis in 1882, 1887, 1894, 1900 and 1918.
In 1882, Moses left Sosman & Landis to partner with Lemuel L. Graham after spending a pleasant time with Will Davis on a project in Richmond, Indiana. That year Moses wrote, “1882 found me just as restless to do something big, and I drifted along with the regular work, until about May, when Graham’s season as the theatre closed. We got together and I quit the firm after refusing a big salary – that is, for me.” He had been accepting outside work and helping Graham with several projects before he tendered his resignation.
In 1887, Moses also left; this was after he returned to his hometown to refurbish an old project. He had completed eight years earlier. At the time, Moses wrote, “My discontent with studio work got the upper hand and I quit on February 11th, and joined Burridge, Moses and Louderback.”
In 1894, Moses struck out on his own for two years. This occurred after a lull in work and spending time on his own art. It was a constant stream of projects in the Sosman & Landis studio that often prohibited Moses from doing any fine art; that was his true goal. In 1885 Moses wrote, “I was ambitious to do something besides [being] a scene painter, to leave something besides a name, which is about all a scene painter leaves as his scenic work is soon painted out.” I think it was really this desire that prompted Moses to leave Sosman & Landis every time, hoping he would be able to carve out a little time for his own painting. Any art that he produced for Sosman & Landis was ephemeral and attributed to the studio, under names that were not his.
Ironically, his work would become so intertwined with Sosman & Landis, that he would eventually purchase the name after the company liquidated in 1923. It has to have been hard, knowing that his legacy would always be associated with a scenic firm that did not include his own last name. Moses & Graham (1882-1883), Burridge Moses & Louderback (1887-1888), Moses (1894-1896) and Moses & Hamilton (1901-1904) were all very short lived, Sosman & Landis lasted for decades. The scenery associated with his own firms disappeared long before Moses passed away. In fact, much of what remains of Moses scenic art are installations delivered by Sosman & Landis. Moses had no way of knowing that work painted for Masonic theaters would far outlast his other commercial endeavors; forming historical time capsules that are only now disappearing.
So, in 1919 Moses went on a sketching trip with Alex DeBeers. He wrote, “The last of August, Alex DeBeers and I started for Utica, Illinois, from where we struck into the Starved Rock country for a few days of sketching. We found it very good. This trip is also included in my travelogues.” After his return to the new studio, Moses worked on only one more protect then left New York Studios, writing, ““A new contract was entered into between the Chicago Studios and myself for one year.” What was discussed on that sketching trip?
To be continued…
