I am ending 2020 with a winter scene. It seems appropriate for the winter solstice tonight, despite the fact that there is no snow on the ground, and I live in Minnesota! I will resume posting after the upcoming presidential inauguration, allowing myself a day or two of celebratory recovery.
In September 2020, I led a group of volunteers at the Tabor Opera House to document nineteenth-century wings, shutters, borders and set pieces in the attic. After my visit, I began examining each piece in detail, creating condition reports, historical analyses, replacement appraisals, and a collections care management document. There is scenery spanning from 1879 to 1902 at the Tabor Opera House, a remarkable scope that shows the transition from wing-and-shutter scenery to fly drops.
Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado
On site, there was one lone shutter that depicted a snowy landscape. It was all that remained of a pair, with a winter scene painted on the back of an original wood shutter constructed for the 1879 stage. When the shutters were repainted in 1888, the fabric was replaced on the second shutter, possibly the result of irreparable damage. This is when the winter scene lost its mate.
The pine frame was originally covered with standard cotton sheeting manufactured at Boott Mills in Lowell, Massachusetts. When the frame was recovered, the new fabric was standard drillings from Stark Mills in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! See you in 2021!
Painted detail. Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, ColoradoPainted detail. Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, ColoradoPainted detail. Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, ColoradoPainted detail. Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, ColoradoPainted detail. Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, ColoradoPainted detail. Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, ColoradoPainted detail. Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, ColoradoPainted detail. Winter scene shutter at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, ColoradoFlat sheaves were attached to the bottoms of shutters to help them move on stageLowering the shutter form the attic to the stageLowering the shutter form the attic to the stageThe shutter on the Tabor Opera House stage. First time in over a centuryCarl Schaefer for scaleThe double-painted shutter has a wood scene on the front
Author: waszut_barrett@me.com
Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.
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