Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Technical theatre history can pop up anywhere – even in a South Dakota Quonset building. In 2017 I stopped by the Heritage Hall Museum & Archives in Freeman, South Dakota. I was accompanying a colleague to see an advertisement curtain that needed some attention. While on site our Heritage Hall host mentioned a much older curtain stored in a nearby shed. Nothing could have prepared me for a series of Quonset huts, stuck in the middle of a field that hot fall day. After a brief struggle to find the correct key to open the massive doors, we wound our way past a series of antique cars and farming implements; this was off site storage for the Heritage Hall. At the far end of the Quonset was a tattered backdrop hanging from a warped batten. The influx of fresh air into the structure caused the old drop to rub against the corrugated metal. After all of these years, an old drop curtain had survived in this primitive building with a dirt floor and community of critters.
The opened doors at the far end provided just enough light for me to see the painted composition and a signature – Kaufman.
Heritage Hall Museum & Archive holds several fine art paintings by George J. Kaufman, as well as an advertisement curtain stored on site.
George Joseph Kaufman was a well-known artist in not only Freeman, South Dakota, but also neighboring towns. Kaufman was known for his fine art, murals, theatre scenery and excessive drinking. In regard to local Freeman projects, Kaufman was credited with scenery delivered to the Freeman Opera House (later the Freeman City Hall) and all of the scenery for the Freeman college auditorium. He also produced local murals for the Bethel Mennonite Church and the Salem Mennonite Church, as well as painting the picture in the dining hall room of the Shriver-Johnson Co. store in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In fact Kaufman painted a variety of scenes in numerous South Dakota Towns, starting in the second decade of the twentieth century.
Unfortunately, Kaufman’s hometown primarily recalls his struggle with alcoholism. Notes by S. Roy Kaufman, based on conversations with extended family members, paint this artist as the town drunk. Online biographies for the artist report, “It was said that he sometimes wasn’t paid for a commission until he had finished it for fear that he would begin drinking and fail to finish the work.” Maybe it was the death of his first wife in childbirth, his failed career as a scenic artist in Hollywood, or the Great Depression that pushed him to find escape in a bottle. It doesn’t really matter in the end, especially as so much of the tale remains based on hearsay. Only a drop curtain, an advertisement curtain, one newspaper clipping, and a smattering of fine art pieces remain to show the artistic potential that this young South Dakota scenic artist had in the early twentieth century.
This drop curtain by Kaufman was likely completed prior to his move to California; before his dreams diminished and the Great Depression settled in to stay.
Kaufman was born on Sept. 28, 1889, in Childstown, Turner County, South Dakota. The son of Joseph Kaufmann (1850-1926) and Francis Graber (1852-1917). The 1900 US Census lists that young George was one of five children living at home; the kids were Peter (b. 1872), Mary (b. 1875), Henry (b. 1883), Lena (b. 1888) and George (b. 1889). Census reports provide one perspective, a small glimpse into Kaufman’s private life and painting career. In 1910, George was still living at home and attending school. As he was 20 years old at the time, this suggests some continued learning or trade. He first entered his father’s trade as a jeweler.
Kaufman’s 1918 WWI Draft registration card describes his appearance as brown hair, brown eyes, medium build and medium height. At the time, he was listed as married and a member of the Mennonite Church. He was listed as a self-employed “Jeweler and Opthalmic.” The 1920 census noted that George was back at home, this time a widower by age 31. Local histories suggest that his first wife died in childbirth. Unfortunately, there are quite a few George Kaufmans who were widowed between 1911 and 1919, too many to positively identify any particular one.
Kaufman soon remarried a local Freeman girl – Martha Lea Edelman (30 Nov. 1899-Sept. 1965). The couple celebrated the birth of their first son, Owen in 1922. At the time, Kaufman was working as a jeweler, but must have been doing quite a bit of painting on the side. In 1925 he left the jewelry business to pursue his passion of painting in California.
On Oct. 30, 1925, the “Argus-Leader” announced, “Freeman Artist Plans to Go to California” (Sioux Falls, SD, page 4). The article continued, “George J. Kaufman, who has become a well-known artist in many parts of the state has decided to go with his family to Hollywood to devote his entire time to the study of his favorite work. Mr. Kaufman has sold his entire stock of jewelry and also disposed of all his household goods. He is now planning to leave in a few days for California. Mr. Kaufman deserves much credit for the work done in the Freeman college auditorium. He painted the entire stage scenery and the school and community is justly proud of the appearance of the stage. Mr. Kaufman also painted the picture in the dining hall room of the Shriver-Johnson Co. store in Sioux Falls. He has also done work in many other towns of the state.”
The couple celebrated the birth of two more children after Owen; Betty Jean was born in 1926 and Virginia M. was born in 1928. Only Betty Jean was born in California, suggesting that the family had returned to Freeman by 1928 for the birth of Virginia Mae, or “Penny” as she later became known. By 1930, the US Census recorded that the small family was now living in Grandview, South Dakota. Kaufman was listed as a “painter” working in the painting industry.
I find it interesting that there are no records of Kaufman being called a scenic artist. This suggests a lack of adequate training that possibly led to his downfall in Hollywood. Based on his fine art and stage art, it is not of the same caliber as many other scenic artists at the time. Kaufman purportedly worked for a short time in Hollywood, painting sets before returning home to South Dakota. I have yet to confirm his work elsewhere.
George J. Kaufman passed away at the farm where he was born on 15 May 1958. He was only 68 years old. Kaufman is buried in Freeman Cemetery, a mile west of town.
