Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.
The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.
Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.
John H. Young started at Sosman & Landis in 1883. He was part of a deal brokered between Thomas G. Moses and Lemuel H. Graham with Joseph S. Sosman and Perry Landis. In 1882 and 1883, Moses, Graham and Young were working together on several projects across the Midwest under the name Graham & Moses. In Eau Claire, Wisconsin, the two competed against Sosman & Landis for the same contract and won. As Moses returned home to Chicago on the same train as Landis, Sosman was waiting for them and proposed a deal. He convinced both Moses and Graham to close their studio and return to work at the Sosman & Landis studio.
John Hendricks Young pictured in 1886
By 1883, Moses had known Young for seven years and was extremely familiar with his artistic skills, especially that as a figure painter. The two first met in Grand Rapids, Michigan when Young was only 18 years old. Moses hired Young as an assistant on a church mural job. From early on, newspaper reviews describe Young as exceptional and incomparable; he had the gift and a magnetic personality. In his memoirs Moses fondly remembered Young’s flower garden as “a hodgepodge mixture of growing things.” As a joke, Young had bought a lot of seeds that had been accidentally mixed. In many ways, this was how Young lived his entire life; he planted unknown seeds and then waited for a surprise.
John Hendricks Young was born on June 10, 1858 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was the son of Samuel W. Young and Lena H. Young. Both emigrated from Holland and raised their family in Michigan. Samuel was listed as a saloonkeeper in the 1870 census and a pork packer in the 1880 census. There were no theater or art connections there to nurture any of the Young children.
John was the third of five children born to the couple. His siblings were: William S. (b. 1822), Mary (b. 1854), John H. (b. 1858), Louis C. (b. 1865), Lillian M. (b. 1867).
In 1876 Moses was working with a Frenchman named Wardus on a church mural job in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They placed two advertisements in the papers: one for a figure painter and the other for an assistant. Young worked as an assistant to the figure painter, Tom Brown, recently hired from New York. Of his crew, 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.” Their employer, Wardus, soon advertised the artistic trio as the “three young Roman artists.” Of the designation, Moses recalled, “We didn’t look it – we were all quartered at a cheap hotel and we met a great many young people.” Unfortunately, Wardus skipped town upon the completion of the project with all of the earnings, leaving the three young artists penniless. Left to their own devices, Moses immediately secured scenery work at an opera house, with Young and Brown hustling for sign work. Soon, Brown returned to New York, with Moses and Young heading to Detroit in hopes of meeting Wardus to collect their salaries. Realizing that Wardus had again left town, Moses returned to Chicago then Young returned to Grand Rapids. By 1877, however, John H. Young was listed as an artistic in the Grand Rapids City Directory, living at 99 Lyon Street.
Moses mentioned Young again in 1882 when he and Graham were working in Michigan. Moses wrote, “While in Grand Rapids, John Young joined us. He was then working a candy concern, but was delighted to join us.” Young was listed as working in the candy manufacturing business in the 1880 Federal Census, residing as a lodger on 90th Street.
Moses, Graham and Young went from Grand Rapids to Elgin, Illinois, and then on to Racine, Wisconsin. They trio split forces as their workload continued to increase. Moses stayed to complete a project in Wisconsin while Graham and Young journeyed on to Hannibal, Missouri. After Missouri, Graham and Young painted scenery for the Opera House in Decatur, Illinois. Like Moses and many other scenic artists, Young picked up additional income teaching art classes as a sideline. On July 27, 1883, the “Decatur Daily Republican” reported, “Mr. John H. Young, the watercolor artist of Chicago, has arrived in the city and will form a class on Thursday afternoon of this week for the purpose of giving instruction in making sketched from nature. Mr. Young may be found either at the opera house, where he is engaged in painting the new scenery, or at Drake’s Hotel. The artist will give lessons on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons of each week during his stay of four weeks in Decatur, Illinois (page 3). On July 28, 1883, the “Herald-Dispatch” of Decatur, Illinois described the scenic work by Graham and Young for the new opera house. The article reported, “L. L. Graham the scenic artist who has been engaged in this work for three weeks. He has been assisted by John H. Young of Chicago” (page 3). The pair also delivered scenery for Boyd’s Opera House in Omaha, Nebraska and the New Gillis Opera House in Kansas City, Missouri. Moses, Graham and Young all began working at the Sosman & Landis studio when Graham & Moses closed out their contracts that fall.
While working at Sosman & Landis, Moses and Young planned several sketching trips to gather source material and hone their artistic skills. Their first western sketching trip for was Colorado in 1884. They were accompanied by fellow scenic artists Hardesty Maratta and Ed Morange. None of the artists had ever seen the Rocky Mountains before, so their headed west toward Denver, Pike’s Peak and Breckenridge. Moses recounted a humourous tale about Young, writing, “About six o’clock the boys were all hungry. As our car was a buffet affair, I ordered tea and toast. The porter had a fine linen tablecloth, and when he brought in the tea and toast there were three very disgusted boys. Young said nothing but left the car and was gone about ten minutes, and then returned with a can of corn and a large link of Summer Sausage. It was fully two feet long. He flourished it over his head and said, loud enough for the whole car to hear, ‘Live and let live, that’s our motto.’ Of course, the passengers were amused, but the porter and cook was not. He rushed out for some paper, which he spread over his damask tablecloth to save it from the sausage grease. He warmed up our corn, so we finally got a meal. Our bag of canned goods was in the baggage car, so there was no chance of our suffering from hunger so long as Young stood in with the baggage man.”
Moses’ memoirs describe Young as a long-legged mischievous artist always ready for adventure and full of humor. Moses and Young continued to spend any time off from the studio sketching. Moses wrote, “I spent Sundays during the autumn months with Young at F. C. Bromely’s studio, painting in oil. We both made some progress.”
In 1884, Moses wrote, “Henry C. Tryon came to the studio to work. He enthused Young and I more than anyone ever had. He was a pupil of Thos. Moran and James and William Hart and was very clever, but awfully eccentric.” Moses and Tryon headed to West Virginia during the fall of 1885. Young joined the pair in Schell. All three roomed in the back of the post office and general store. Moses wrote, “John Young joined us here and entered into the spirit of the outing. The evening of Young’s arrival we were all in the store. Young was stretched out on the counter, with his head resting in the scoop of the scales, and Tryon, with his immense meerschaum, was hitting it up like an engine.” The three spent their days traipsing across the countryside to find ideal sketching locations. Amidst artistic observations and animated political debates, the three worked on their craft. They descended to valley floors and crossed many creeks and rivers. Moses recalled, “Young, with his long legs could jump across from rock to rock.”
In 1886, Moses, Tryon and Young were three of six scenic artists featured in Chicago’s “Inter Ocean” newspaper. David A. Strong, Walter W. Burridge, and Charles H. Ritter were the other three scenic artists. At one time or another, all six artists worked for Sosman & Landis in the 1880s. The “Inter Ocean” article published on February 28, 1886, gave a brief bio for each artist. Of Young, the article noted, “J. Hendricks Young was born in Grand Rapids, Mich. in 1858, and early became an artist in fresco painting, dealing almost exclusively in Scriptural figure subjects. His experience as a scenic artist has been continuous since 1880. The leading merits and characteristics of Mr. Young’s art treatment are originality of conception and boldness, vigor, and expression of action in execution. He is now engaged in some of the best panorama work.”
Young was still living in Chicago and listed in the City Directory in both 1887 and 1888. At the time he was working at 12 S. Morgan and boarding at the Farwell House. By the end of 1888, however, Young had moved to New York and by 1889 was listed in the New Rochelle Directory as an New York artist working at 541 W. 21st In the 1891-92 City Directory Young was listed as a scenic artist at 1445 B’way and living in Pelhamville, NY.
By 1891, Young’s studio was listed at the Broadway Theatre in New York. His artistic process is described in numerus article over the years. An article in the “Pittsburgh Dispatch” described his use of a pounce during the drawing process. He described, “I first lay off this charcoal sketch on paper. The charcoal rubs off. I stick small holes through the paper following the lines and, placing this sheet upon the canvas, take the ounce-bag of charcoal dust and slap it in the paper over the hole. When the sheet is removed we have an outline upon the canvas. This is followed with an indelible pencil, the lines of which will come out stringer when wet with paint. The painter can then go ahead. This is done where exact work is desirable, as it often is in architectural pieces”
In New York, Young designed over 70 shows for Broadway, including “Babes in Toyland” (1903), “Forty-five minutes from Broadway” (1906), “Little Nemo” (1908), “Higgledy-Piggledy” (1905), “Ziegfield Follies” (1907,1908, and 1913) “Broadway to Paris” (1912), “Robinson Crusoe, Jr.” (1907, 1908, 1916), and “Sinbad” (1919).
Already in 1894, Young was noted as “the ingenious and artistic scene painter” for “On the Bowery” by R. N. Stephens. Young was applauded for painting a beautiful rendition of the Brooklyn Bridge. In 1895 Young designed and painted “Pawn Ticket 210” by David Belasco of the Broadway Theatre in New York. A stellar review was published in the “Detroit Free Press” on April 9 (page 5). In 1896, Young was credited with scenery for “Fortuna, or the Princess Tough,” commenting, “The scenery, it is said, is the richest and most elaborate ever seen at the Fountain and was painted by John H. Young, of the Fifth Avenue Theatre, New York” (The Commercial Gazette, Cincinnati, OH, 6 Feb 1896, page 15). By the fall of 1896, Young was associated with the Broadway Theatre in New York, with this association being cited in newspapers across the country (Los Angeles Herald, 20 Sept. 1896, page 11).
The next year Young designed and painted the “picturesque scenery” for Davis & Keogh’s production of “The Sidewalks of New York.” Newspaper reviews noted that it depicted “familiar localities, reproduced from photographs of the actual buildings and views by the hand of artist” (Detroit Free Press December 6, 1896, page 19). The article goes onto describe his contribution, “In the second act the New York Herald building is shown in accurate detail when enormous presses are at work, and the editorial staff is in active operation. The third act is laid in Brooklyn. This scene represents an old distillery and a shot tower by the East river.” Later newspaper reviews commented on Young’s “originality of conception and boldness, vigor, and expression of action in execution.” Young became well known for his artistic vision, picturesque painting and precision. His trademark was an attention to detail, one supported by an illustrative library kept at his studio. He also excelled in figure painting, the first quality that caused Moses to hire him in 1876.
On Dec. 17, 1899, Young was quoted in the “San Francisco Chronicle,” stating, “Figure painting is a branch of art in itself. It requires a long and tedious course of study and practice, including knowledge of anatomy that would qualify a man for a position as a staff surgeon in the Army, and the average scene painter, who has to handle all branches of painting can’t afford the time necessary to learn all this. Then too, it is practically impossible to paint figures than, in view of the varying positions taken by actors, will always be in proportion to the real personages on the stage. It’s bad enough when you paint an ancient oak, supposed to be big in proportion to its years, to have some ham of an actor lean up against it and make it look like a sapling; but worse with figures it would be infinitely worse” (page 12).
Young met up with Moses again in 1900 when as they both designed and painted scenes for “Quo Vadis.” While in New York, Moses and Young continued their sketching trips, now adding Harry A. Vincent to their group. In 1901, Moses wrote, “Every Sunday this summer I went sketching near home, and it was very picturesque. John Young and Harry Vincent joined me quite often, as we all lived near the spot.”
Moses moved to New York, operating Moses & Hamilton until 1904 when he returned to the Sosman & Landis studio. By 1902, Young’s studio was located at the Grand Opera House in New York City. On September 3, 1902, the “Buffalo Express” published a lengthy article about Young. The article reported, “Mr. Young has been twelve years getting together a working outfit of 10,000 photographs and 800 books, which he values at $60,000. As recently as 1898 he sent $50 to each American consul in an out-of-the-way place and requested the purchase of photographs – photographs of palaces and of fisher huts, of glorious gardens and of desert beaches, of statuary and carving and paintings. Among his volumes are David Robert’s Door Designs, Boucher’s Cupids and many others now out of print, and generally forgotten…He almost always keeps armor, antique weapons, costumes and the like. From his vast store the painter extracted pictures from which to copy a rice field for the Chinese booth of the Woman’s Exhibitions, bazaar buildings at Cairo for the Egyptian booth, a café on the Ringstrasse at Vienna for the Austria booth, and so on, ad infinitum…The large number of models in Mr. Young’s studio is due to the fact that he keeps his miniatures as carefully as an accountant filed away papers. Not only is there a chance that he might be obliged to bring them into requisition again of fire destroys his work, or a duplicate of that work is desired, but they form an invaluable record. ‘These playthings,’ he declares, ‘are the plot of the story we tell, and according as the plot is accurate and elaborate so is the story atmospheric and pleasing. My principal study since I took up this art has been the development of ideas which crystalize into models – a feature of scene painting of which the public is wholly ignorant.” The article also noted, “The biggest contract Mr. Young has had since he became a scene painter is that with the Professional Woman’s League for the Woman’s Exhibition, and he has been pushing his entire staff nearly two months on the models to be submitted to Manager William A. Brady.”
In 1903, Young was living in Mount Vernon, listed as a N.Y. scenic artist living at 2nd ave. near 2nd, N.P. That year, Moses was also listed in the Mount Vernon Directory, living at 170 Elm Ave.
Early in 1904 he purchased the two-story frame house with a “shed on rear” at No. 536 West 29th Street. On February 12 architect Arthur G. C. Fletcher filed plans for a “brick and concrete studio building” to cost $8,000. Completed within the year, double doors on the street level allowed the large scenic artworks to be transported from studio to stage. The building design included a great expanse of glass in the large arched fourth floor loft window, providing an abundance of northern light, perfect for painting scenery. In his 29th street studio, Young created hundreds of maquettes. Young repeatedly explained that these small-scale designs were “a feature of scene painting of which the public is wholly ignorant.” Young’s studio building was later used Eugene B. Dunkel Studios, another scenic firm. Neither Young now Dunkel would have ever guessed that in 2019, the 29th street studio building would be listed for 18.5 million dollars (https://www.luxuo.com/properties/properties-featured/the-1904-john-h-young-building-is-now-on-sale-for-18-5-million.html).
In 1905, Moses and Young completed their last project together. They worked on old mill scenery at Luna Park for Frederick Thompson; Young did all the properties and papier-mâché work. Young isn’t mentioned again until 1922 in Moses’ reminiscing. That year, Moses wrote, “John H. Young was another assistant that made good in scenic painting, but never stuck to the picture end of it, as he started to make money in New York and that settled his picture ambitions, (if he ever had them very strong). As I look backward over the names of the successful ones, I wonder what I would have done had I been gifted with the same amount of talent.”
One of the best articles about Young is part of the John R. Rothgeb Papers at the Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas, Austin. It is a tattered photocopy, without any date or source, tucked between two unrelated files. The article is entitled, “How Scene Painting is Done in a Big Studio.” The subtitle that followed was, “John H Young Goes About His Work in Systematic Fashion and Gives Public an Idea of How His Difficult Work is Performed.” Here it is in its entirety.
“No scenic artist in this country enjoys a higher reputation than John H. Young of the Broadway Theatre. Hardly a play of any moment which has been produced in the metropolis has been written without evidence of his careful and skillful touch, and for the road attractions they bristle with the touches of his brush.
But Mr. Young’s position in his special line has not been reached without long and conscientious work dating back nearly a score of years. Born in the early 60s, Mr. Young soon gave signs of his artistic bent by turning his back upon the allurements of Michigan farming, and he was barely out of his teens before he was turning out pictures, which, though the evinced talent, were lacking in that technique which can only come from study and practice. About this time Mr. Young had the good fortune to come in contact with Thomas Moses, the veteran scenic artist of the West, and the latter was quick to see signs of talent in his young protégé.”
For several years Mr. Young worked in concert with his instructor and the scenes that he painted caused so wide comment, that in time he came to New York, where he could find a better field for his abilities. New York managers were quick to appreciate his efforts and thus came about that the subject of this sketch was installed as chief artist at the Broadway, which position he has held for more than seven years.
The average manager, when he has selected a play, has but seldom anything more than the vaguest idea of what he wants in the way of scenery to enhance it. It is just here that Mr. Young steps in and rescues the befuddled manager from the slough of theatrical despondence. He gets the main incidents of the author’s story and suggests the possibilities of scenic illustration. Oftentimes the manager who is to produce the play has ideas of the most impractical nature and Mr. Young shows him a hasty sketch of the utter folly of attempting to reproduce them. Provided Mr. Young and the manager come to an agreement, the decided-upon scenes are first done in watercolors, and these, when finished are subjected to another inspection by both artist and manager. Changes are suggested here and there, and sometimes even, the whole work is gone over, when it is found advisable. When the preliminary sketch is satisfactory, the next step is to transform into a miniature set scene, which duplicates down to the most trifling detail, the contemplates larger on for the actual performance. For this performance Mr. Young has in his studio, a small stage fitted with all the appurtenances which belong to the most complex of the regular stages; there are trap doors, wings, fly-galleries, a drop curtain, electric light, and a maze of small cords and fixtures for managing the whole.
If it be a mill scene, for instance, that is being arranged, the duplicate in miniature must have the revolving wheel, the running water, the sluice-box, and nothing whatever must be lacking. Very often when all is completed and in place on this trial stage, something of an impractical nature may be discovered and remedied, before the expense of the larger model is incurred. Theoretically many wonderful stage scenes may be all right, but the little trial stage prevents all failures and fiascos so far as the mere scenery is concerned. Of course, after this point is reached – the test on the trial stage – nothing remains but the putting of the scenes into the proper shape for the public. Time is the principal factor in this, and the more scenes and the more full of mechanical contrivance they are the longer it takes, Mr. Young has been most fortunate in overcoming the difficulties which put the mere spectacular plays beyond the abilities of many scenic artists. In “Under the Poplar Star,” for nicety of construction and naturalness of action, Mr. Young’s iceberg scene has seldom been equaled, and in all of his work there is the same evidence of thorough art, combined with a broad grasp of mechanical detail.
To the layman, scenic painting is somewhat of a mystery, and if he gives any thought to it at all it is doubtful if he realizes the high order of artistic ability which one must possess in order to faithfully deploy upon mammoth stage canvases the scenes which reflect the spirit of the play. Not only has one got to be an artist to begin with, but he must be a perfect jack-at-all trades in order to transfer his preliminary small sketch to a back drop measuring sometimes more than 100×40 feet; in the main, the small pattern picture is ruled off into squares, each of which is consecutively numbered. Similar squares, but on a much larger scale are then drawn upon the great canvas and the sketch is then “blocked in” square for square and number by number. As long as four months is needed on some of the more pretentious scenes, though about six weeks is the average for an ordinary scene. To enumerate the plays for which Mr. Young has painted scenes is no easy task, but among them may be mentioned, “The Highwayman,” “On the Bowery,” “Power of the Press,” “In Old Kentucky,” “Cumberland ’61,” “The Player,” “Pousee Café,” “Woman in Black,” “Under the City Lamps,” “Le Voyage de Susette,” “The Diamond Breaker,” “Monongahela,” “Trip to the Moon,” “Naval Cadet,” “Roaring Dick,” “La Falotte,” “Fallen Among Thieves,” “Polar Star,” “For the Crown,” “Lion Tamer,” “Across the Potomac,” “Power of Gold,” “Wang,” “Hamlet,” “Sidewalks of New York,” In addition, Mr. Young has painted many of the best drop curtains in the country, and as a water color artist he stands in the foremost rank. Nearly every exhibition of note is contributed to by him, and his work command a high price among discriminating purchasers.”
Young lived the remainder of his life in New York, eventually retiring from scenic art, but never giving up painting. Youngs’ obituary was brief, and simply stated: “JOHN H. YOUNG – In North Pelham, N.Y., 86; retired New York scenic artist; designed stage sets for shows managed by Florenz Ziegfied, David Belasco, Earl Carroll, George White and the Harrises.” (News Journal, Wilmington, Delaware, 5 Jan 1944. Page 13).
Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.
The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.
Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.
One of the many maquettes.Scenery that matches the maquette.Scenery that matches the maquette.Painted detail. Scenery that matches the maquette.Painted detail. Scenery that matches the maquette.
In 1883, Thomas G. Moses and Lemuel L. Graham were painting together as Graham & Moses. That year, they both returned to work for Sosman & Landis.
Lemuel Laken Graham was born on July 4, 1846, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was the son of the Rev. Daniel McBride Graham and Ursula Graham. Rev. Rev. Graham who purportedly placed Lemuel in a scenic art apprenticeship as a young age, yet Graham first appears in newspapers as a performer. Regardless of Graham’s introduction to the theatre, by 1870, L. L. Graham was touring with J. A. Lord’s Chicago Dramatic Co. Graham and playing the role of Sir Charles Marlowe in “She Stoop’s to Conquer.” By the fall of that year, Graham was performing in “Frou-Frou,” On November 22, 1870, the “Leavenworth Times” reported that Mary Graham was also part of the company. Elizabeth Martha “Mary” was Lem’s first wife. The two enjoyed a brief marriage and were divorced later that year.
On February 4, 1871, the “Junction City Weekly Union” mentioned Mr. L. L. Graham as personifying “Jem Dalton, the tiger.” The newspaper article reported that Graham “did it well,” adding, “He is a young man of talent, and we believe a true artiste.” On January 12, 1872, the “Daily Commonwealth” noted that Graham again appeared with Louie Lord’s Dramatic Company in their production of “Our American Cousin,” as well as a touring with the production “Buffalo Bill,” the production and not the performer. During the early 1870s that Graham transitioned from a performer to a scenic artist and worked at McVicker’s’ Theater in Chicago.
After Chicago, Graham traveled quite a bit, working in San Francisco, Cleveland, Memphis and New Orleans.
On May 14, 1875, the Van Wert Weekly in Ohio, reported “Mr. L. L. Graham, a scenic artist, is painting a number of scenes for Gilliland’s Opera House, and, also, a new drop curtain. The Union School building will be the central figure on the drop curtain, around which will appear the advertisements of a number of leading firms” (page 3).
On September 17, 1875, New Orleans’s “Times-Picayune” reported, “The Academy of Music, always first to open and last to close, has been entirely renovated, a new proscenium and ceiling put up, which is being decorated by Mr. L. L. Graham, the Academy’s scenic artist, who, by-the-by, showed us some fine specimens of his art during the last season, repainted all over, new carpets, and other modern improvements.”
On October 16, 1875, the “New Orleans Republican” reported that L. L. Graham painted the drop curtain for Bidwell’s Academy of Music, “representing Tasso at the Court of Ferrara. Graham’s new drop was to be “unrolled for the first time.” By December 26, 1875, the “New Orleans Republican” mentioned Graham again in connection with the Academy of Music’s scenic attributes: “The truly sublime piece of scenery in the transformation scene is the handiwork of Mr. L. L. Graham, the skillful artist, who gets up some very grand effects, and it riveted the gaze of the spellbound audience.”
On Jan 20, 1876, the “Times-Picayune” credited Graham with painting the scenery for “Dead to the World” at the Academy of Music, reporting “The play will be ornamented with new scenery from the brush of Mr. L. L. Graham, whose handiwork has ere now received its need of popular applause.” Graham remained associated with the Academy of Music until the late 1870s when he returned to Chicago and worked with Henry C. Tryon. In 1876 Graham also partnered with Tryon to deliver a new drop curtain and stock scenery to an opera house in South Bend, Indiana. An article in the “South Bend Tribune” on August 9, 1876, reported, “L. L. Graham of the Academy of Music in New Orleans, La., and Henry C. Tryon, of McVicker’s Theater of Chicago, scenic artists, are engaged at the opera house in painting a new drop curtain, a wooded landscape, a place scene, a parlor scene and others.” This seems to be a turning point for Graham as he becomes increasingly connected with the Chicago theatre scene.
By 1881, Graham was working at the Academy of Music in Chicago. It is at the Academy that Moses secures a part-time position painting with Graham. This is in addition to Moses’ working on staff at Sosman & Moses. In fact, Moses is the first employee that Joseph Sosman hires and the two go on the road, completing one project after another contracted by Perry Landis. Upon each return to Chicago, Moses seeks additional employment, including that with Graham at the Academy of Music. There are two other things to consider at this time. The first is that Moses likely met Graham at McVicker’s, as each worked for Lou Malmsha by the late 1870s. The second thing to consider is that Moses’ younger sister was part of the stock company at the Academy of Music when Graham was painting there in 1881.
By 1882 Graham was also known as the scenic artist for Chicago’s Standard Theatre. Moses worked for Graham at both locations. That same year, the two partnered and establish the scenic studio of Graham & Moses. Of the partnership, Moses wrote, “We got together and I quit the firm after refusing a big salary – that is, for me. Our first contract was at Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Academy of Music. We worked night and day. I did all the foliage and I was astonished on seeing my stuff set, to see how I improved.” Kalamazoo’s Academy of Music was a 1250-seat opera house located on South Rose Street. After Kalamazoo, Moses and Graham completed a project in Grand Rapids, Michigan for Redmond’s Opera House, also built in 1882 and later known as the Grand Opera House.
While in town, Moses wrote that Graham fell in love with the head waitress at his boarding house. The two were married two years later on November 20, 1884. The Kalamazoo waitress was Elizabeth “Lizzie” West (b. 1860). Of Graham’s new wife, Moses wrote, “she proved to be a good wife and good mother.” The Grahams celebrated the birth of three children, Rachel (b. 1884), Ethel (b. 1892) and Revard Parker (b. 1895). Lizzie was actually Graham’s third wife. His first marriage to the actress Mary Graham ended in divorce by 1870. The original divorce decree was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire, prompting that another be reissued before Graham’s marriage to Lizzie. On April 17, 1884, the “Inter Ocean” reported, “Martha Elizabeth Graham of Cumberland, Maine, filed a petition in the Circuit Court yesterday for the restoration of a decree of divorce. The decree was rendered against her on November 30, 1870, in the Circuit Court of Cook Country in favor of Lemuel L. Graham and was destroyed by the great Chicago fire.” On April 17, 1884, the Inter Ocean announced new suits in the circuit court reporting, “48.111 – Lemuel L. Graham vs. Elizabeth Graham. Bill to restore decree of divorce.” Confirmation of Graham’s divorce from his first wife was necessary as Graham planned his fall marriage to Lizzie. What’s interesting is that Graham also divorced his second wife just before his third marriage too. In 1884 Lemuel L. Graham severed marital ties with his second wife, Nellie H. Graham. The divorce was reported in the San Francisco Examiner. On October 28, 1884, the announcement stated, “Judge Maguire has granted Nellie H. Graham a divorce from Lemuel L. Graham, willful neglect and desertion.”
From 1882 to 1883, Moses & Graham completed several projects throughout the Midwest. In 1882, they journeyed to Elgin, Illinois, after completing scenery for the Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids opera houses. In Elgin, scenic artist John H. Young joined the pair to paint. Moses had previously worked with Young as a decorative painter on several Michigan projects. Young later settled in New York and became one of the top Broadway designers during the first two decades of the twentieth century. The next 1882 project for Moses, Graham and Young was located in Racine, Wisconsin. They painted stock scenery for the Black Opera House. By this point, Moses wrote, “Graham and I were doing much better now, and we had two good jobs at the same time. He was a regular Shylock, a good fellow and a hard worker, but altogether too close to please me.”
As the workload increased for Moses & Graham, the two founders focused on separate jobs, with Moses remaining in Racine while Graham and Young departed for Hannibal, Missouri. Graham and Young were painting at the Opera House in Decatur, Illinois by the summer of 1883. On July 28, 1883, The Saturday Herald reported, “L. L. Graham, the scenic artist, has been engaged in this work for three weeks. He has been assisted by John H. Young, of Chicago. Mr. Graham has had 17 years of experience in this line of painting. He and his assistant left last night for Chicago, whence they go to do the same kind of work at Boyd’s Opera House in Omaha, and finally the New Gillis Opera house in Kansas City.”In 1883, Moses ventured to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Both Moses & Graham and Sosman & Landis were also competing for the same project. Moses wrote, “I met Mr. Landis there. I got the contract. We rode to Chicago together and met Mr. Sosman on our arrival. We were offered $45.00 a week. I wired Graham at Burlington. He answered $50.00 and extras. We closed for that. I had Oshkosh to finish, which I did and May 1st found Graham, Young and myself back on Clark Street at the Sosman and Landis Studio.” Graham only remained at Sosman & Landis for a year. In 1884 he left to partner with William P. Davis in Kansas City, Missouri. Davis was also a former Sosman & Landis employee, having worked as Moses’ assistant.
The new firm of Graham & Davis became an affiliate of the Sosman & Landis Studio, effectively managing a regional branch for the Chicago firm, referred to as the Kansas City Scenic Co. The regional branch for Sosman & Landis in Kansas City did not require any listing in the Kansas City newspaper, or any regional advertisements. To do so would have placed them in competition with Graham and Davis’ firm. Sosman & Landis simply needed an address and potential studio space for the increasing project load associated with the western region. The larger firm relied on western subcontractors and scenic contracts that were completed in studios other than their main Chicago space. Even in Chicago, Sosman & Landis managed several annex spaces to complete an ever-increasing project load.
In Kansas City, Graham & Davis lasted for less than two years, when Davis withdrew and returned to Chicago. Although business was booming in Kansas City, projects were more lucrative in large metropolitan areas. This is why Graham would also leave Kansas City and venture east a few years after Davis. In 1887, Davis was listed in the Chicago Directory, living at 850 W. Madison and working as a scenic artist, associated with the Auditorium Theatre and Grand Opera House. Davis later moved to Minneapolis where he became one of three founders of the Twin City Scenic Co. Graham maintained his relationship with Sosman & Landis, representing the Chicago firm in 1887 when they subcontracted Graham to deliver scenery to the opera house in Winfield, Kansas.
On October 19, 1887, the “Daily Tribune” reported, “There were several firms competing for the work, but the contract was let to Sosman & Landis of Chicago, New York and Kansas City. Their representative Mr. L. L. Graham who is in charge of the Kansas City branch had a miniature stage in which he showed the various scenes and explained in detail of the workings of the scenes.” Graham also represented Sosman & Landis for their work at the Bonham Opera House in Clay Center, Kansas, that year. On April 21, 1887, “The Times” of Clay Center reported, “The scenery was painted by Sosman & Landis, of Chicago. The same firm that fitted the Gillis Opera House, Kansas City, and the Grand at Topeka. Mr. Hagan is their western machinist, and also does the same work for L. L. Graham of Kansas City.”
There were three main scenic studios in the Midwest by the turn of the twentieth century – the Twin Cities Scenic Co. (Minnesota), Sosman & Landis (Illinois), and The Kansas City Scenic Co. (Missouri). The three formed a triumvirate with agreed jurisdictions, allowing each to quickly dominate a region. They frequently shared artists and subcontracted projects to one another Sosman & Landis also established a regional office in New York by 1887. Scenic art relationships established a network of studios and their affiliates, preventing smaller firms and outsiders to get a foothold in the region during the late-nineteenth century and early-twentieth century. A network of affiliates allowed studios to offer services and products at a rate that few single competitors could match. In 1887, Graham was again listed as a scenic artist in the Kansas City Directory. Graham’s studio was listed 525 Main, with Graham rooming at 517 E. Missouri Ave. by 1888, Moses visited Graham in Kansas City, writing, “He was doing well.” Indeed, Graham was doing very well and maintaining close connections with Sosman & Landis in Chicago.
The 1888 Kansas City Directory included a few of Graham’s employees, artists associated with the firm of “Lemuel L. Graham.” Benjamin F. Dunn was listed as a scenic artist, employed by Graham that year. Graham’s business was thriving. His studio was included in the 1888 publication, “Industries of Kansas City: Historical, Descriptive, and Statistical.”Here is Graham’s listing:“L. L. Graham. Scenic Artist, Contractor for Stage Equipment, Theatre Hardware,Frame Work, Canvas, Traps, Bridges and Every Necessary Equipment of First Class Theatres, 525 & 527 Main Street.Mr. L. L. Graham is a prominent representative of the scenic art in Kansas City, having established this business here four years ago in conjunction with Mr. Davis, who withdrew from the firm some two years since. Mr. Graham is an adept in this line, having followed the business upwards of twenty-five years. His first experience in the school of art was had at McVicker’s’ Theater, Chicago, Ill. and subsequent training in San Francisco, Cleveland, Memphis and New Orleans. His establishment here is eligibly located at 525-527 Main Street, and consists of a studio and shops fitted up with every essential appliance and convenience for the correct and expeditious execution of the work, which comprises high art stage scenery and equipment, rich and elegant stage curtains, stage properties of every description, theatrical hardware, framework, canvas, traps, bridges, etc. One special feature of Mr. Graham’s industry is his advertising drop curtain, which is richly draped on the top and sides with royal crimson and heavy bullion fringes and pendants gracefully falling on steps painted at bottom of curtain. In the center is a large and artistically painted picture in stucco frame, which is surrounded by a border of deep Prussian blue, divided into spaces for the insertion of business cards. The cards may be lettered in a becoming and artistic style in bright gold, the whole having a brilliant and pleasing effect. There are usually from eighteen to twenty of these spaces of varying sizes to suit the advertiser as to the amount he desires to pay. Full particulars concerning this feature will be furnished by mail, upon application, to theatre managers, hall proprietors and others interested as well as any other information appertaining to stage equipment and carpentry. Mr. Graham has executed stage work for some fifty or sixty houses in Nebraska, notably at Omaha and Lincoln, etc., and for forty-five different houses in Kansas, including Winfield, Wichita and Anthony, and in St. Joe, Hannibal, Springfield and many others in Missouri. As many as thirty-six men in his employ upon an average weekly pay roll of $500.00, Mr. Graham giving his personal attention to every detail of this most intricate work. Contracts were made for Priests of Pallas and trades displays and pageants in Kansas.”
Thirty-six men in Graham’s scenic studio is comparable to that of Sosman & Landis in Chicago at the same time. However, Graham did not remain in Kansas, heading east.“Industries of Kansas City: Historical, Descriptive, and Statistical” also included an interesting comment about scenic studios during this period, noting “Such industries as the one under special notice [L. L. Graham], are among the necessary concomitants of a rapidly developing metropolitan community, indicating that spirit of enterprise that caters to refined taste and social enjoyment.” In other words, a town transitions into a metropolitan area when it can support not only a theatre, but also theatrical manufacturers. This says a lot about the size and scope of scenic concerns in the 1880s, as well as their reflection on the performing arts. Graham soon moved east and partnered with L. J. Couch (1838 – 1909) by 1896. Little is known of their partnership, but it ended badly. On January 9, 1896, Graham and Couch were listed in the Boston Globe under the heading “Business Troubles.” Of their failing scenic studio, the newspaper announced, “L. J. Couch and Lemuel L. Graham, doing business at 384 West 1st St, South Boston, under the firm of Levi Couch & Co., scenic painters, have been petitioned into insolvency by Edmund G. Pond, creditor.” Before Graham, L. J. Couch & Co. was operated by Couch and David Richards. Richards remained with the firm from 1893 to 1895. Graham was likely Richard’s replacement near the end. As with Graham’s firm in Kansas City, L. J. Couch & Co. offered a wide range of theatrical goods, ranging from painted scenery and theatrical hardware, to general stage appliances.
After L. J. Couch & Company was dissolved, Graham partnered with P. Dodd Ackerman, another well-known scenic artist and designer who made quite a name for himself. Graham and Ackerman’s studio was initially located in Brooklyn’s Broadway Theater. On August 13, 1902, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that Graham and P. D. Ackerman took a mortgage with John C. Sceneck at Bushwick Ave. for $3900.” Their new address was now 1576-1580 Bushwick Ave. Unfortunately for Graham, this partnership also failed. In the end, Graham partnered with his son Revard and founded L. L. Graham and Son, also known as Graham & Son. Their firm was located at Crosby Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. Graham remained in Brooklyn, New York, until his passing in 1914.
There remains one extant drop credited to L. L. Graham & Son. It is located at the Grange Hall in Denmark, Maine.Graham passed away after a brief illness on Sunday, December 27, 1914. He was only 68 years old when he died at his home.
L. L. Graham’s obituary in 1914
On December 29, 1914, the Brooklyn Daily Times published Graham’s obituary: Lemuel Laken Graham, died Sunday from heart failure after a long illness at his home. 3 Miller avenue, on the border line of Queens Borough, near Highland Park. Mr. Graham had a studio building on Crosby avenue, near his home, for ten years, funeral services will be held to-night with internment in Evergreens cemetery. Mr. Graham was known from coast to coast among theatrical men and had traveled in every State in the Union in his time. His work was known in most of the principal cities. He was born in Ann Harbor, Mich., July 4, sixty-eight years ago, the son of the Rev. Daniel McBride Graham, a Baptiste [sic.] clergyman and the president of Hillsdale College, Mich., and Ursula Graham. His father apprenticed him to the scene painting business in his youth and he early achieved fame in his chose calling. He was associated with Sosman and Landis of Chicago, for some years and painted the curtain for the Chicago Auditorium. Later he was a partner of L. J. Couch, of Boston, and in his studio, there turned out some of the best known to stageland. While at Kansas City for a number of years, Mr. Graham was in charge of the great annual event there, the priest of Pallas parade, and created all of the floats and scenes used in the carnival. Mr. Graham and P. Dodd Ackerman did the decorations for the Broadway Theatre here, and he painted several curtains and numerous elaborate settings for Manhattan theatres. Mr. Graham taught scene painting for years and some of the most skillful scenic artists in the country were his pupils. Of late years he confined his work to the creation of smaller scenes and he had a reputation for clever organizations. He leaves his wife, Elizabeth West Graham; a son Revard Parker Graham, a scenic artist, and a daughter, Mrs. Fermin Ferrer, of Laurelton, L. I.”LikeCommentShare
