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I am taking a short break from the life and times of Thomas G. Moses in 1914 to enjoy the holidays with my family. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

I came across an interesting article about the sale of “Daddy Long Legs” dolls while looking for information about the production’s scenery by Thomas G. Moses.  The manufacture and sale of Judy dolls were part of a nation-wide charitable endeavor benefitting orphaned children and those in need both in the United States and over seas.

Although the United States would not officially enter WWI until 1917, the conflict was continually covered in the newspapers. That fall, “Daddy Long Legs” was playing in New York as France and Britain battled Germany, ravaging Belgium. Although the United States government remained neutral, individuals and organizations in the United immediately began to lend financial support to those devastated by the war.

In 1914, Ruth Chatteron, Jean Webster and the cast of “Daddy Long Legs” became involved in a series of charity events that benefitted orphaned children, especially those in Belgium. Throughout the fall of 1914 and into the spring of 1915, Chatternon and Webster appeared publically at many fundraisers where “Judy” dolls and other souvenirs from the play were sold to raise charitable donations. Many of the proceeds went to benefit Belgian children and others little ones overseas.

On Nov. 30, 1914, the “New York Tribune” published an article, “Santa Claus Calls Louder Than War. Daddy Long Legs Dolls and Money for Children in Stricken Battle Zone” (page 9).  The article continued, “War and hard times may rule the world, but still a few people have time to plan for a little Christmas merriment for the children, both in this country and in Europe. The State Charities Aid Association announces that, beginning to-day, one thousand Daddy Long-Legs dolls will be distributed to individuals and clubs. The dolls will be dressed by them and then sold in shops and privately to get money to use for the 35,000 children whom the association looks out for in institutions and boarding homes in this state.

There are to be boy dolls and girls, if dressed accordingly to the design made by Miss Jean Webster, who wrote the play “Daddy Long-Legs,” will be in bright blue ginghams, just like Judy Abbott in the play.”  The Daddy Long Legs dolls were part of a larger event. The article continued,

“Dolls of all nations will be on view and on sale at the bazaar which is to be held by the International Institute for Young Women, at 113 East 34^th St., from to-day to December 3. The proceeds will be used to help foreign girls who are stranded in New York, but the dolls, which include Russian princesses, German peasants, Italian cantadinas, Roman matrons,

[racial slur for dolls that I am not including]

, English babies and Scotch Highlanders, as so fascinating that the child who finds one in her Christmas stocking will have a joyous holiday. The committee of the institute includes Mrs. W. C. Potter, Mrs. William Fellows Morgan, Mrs. Elihu Root, Jr., Mrs. Charles H. Ferry, Mrs. Edward S. Harkness and Miss Charlotte Stillman. Members of the committee will preside at the bazaar and serve tea.

Sunday schools all over the country are sending in contributions to the War Children’s Christmas Fun, of which Mrs. John Hays Hammond is national chairman. The gifts of the Sunday Schools have aggregated $1,000 a day recently. The fund has received to date $12,398. Twenty-five tons of clothing and candy have been shipped to England for English and Belgian children. Money equal in value will be sent to United States ambassadors in Russia, Germany and France to buy a little Christmas for the children whose fathers are one the front.”

For a brief period of time, orphaned children took center stage and there was a public outpouring of support. For example, the Children’s Home Society of California started a campaign to “make unique toys for the benefit and succor of hundreds of homeless fatherless and motherless little ones,” especially featuring Daddy Long Legs dolls (Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan 1915, page 11). Newspapers across the country posed the question, “Will you please buy a Daddy Long-Legs doll, mister?” Judy dolls were featured as the perfect Christmas gift that also contributed to a good cause. Newspaper pictures included the “Daddy Long-Legs” cast, stage orphans, making their appeal to the charitable, a cause that would support “their really unfortunate brothers and sisters.”

To be continued…

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1914, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “One scene, 3^rd Act, for Henry Miller in ‘Daddy Long Legs.’  It was a very delicate interior, real fabric walls.” The first scene of the play is laid in the dining room in the John Grier home, the second in the girl’s study at college, the third on a picturesque New England farm and the fourth in a library in a New York home (Hartford Courant, 28 September 1914, page 9). Moses painted the exterior setting of a picturesque New England Farm.

 “Daddy Longlegs” was a comedy written by Miss Jean Webster (1876-1916) and first presented at Powers’ theater in Chicago on March 16, 1914. Based on the 1912 novel, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “the love story of a brilliant waif who falls happily in love with her affluent benefactor” (Chicago Tribune, 7 June 1914, page 56). The story was first published as a Ladies’ Home Journal serial (Inter Ocean, 17 March 1914, page 6).

“Daddy Long Legs” centers around orphan Judy Abbot, played by actress Ruth Chatterton. Judy is brought up in an orphanage with a hundred little children. However, instead of being put out to work when she turns fourteen, Judy is allowed to remain and attend high school for four years. This was not a pure gesture of generosity, as Judy becomes the maid, saving the orphanage the expense of having a servant. The head matron berates her daily until Judy finally stands up for herself during a monthly “Trustees Day.” A new, wealthy, and young trustee, Jervis Pendleton, discovered that Judy was different from the other “ cowed, apathetic orphans” and sends her to college (The Pittsburgh Press, 6 Dec. 1914, page 57). His identity remains that of an anonymous benefactor, going by the name of John Smith, with his becoming the “shadow of a father.” Judy is only allowed to see the shadow of Jervis Pendleton, and Judy exclaims, “What funny long legs the shadow has! He is like a spider. I’ll call him my dear old Daddy Long Legs.” As her anonymous benefactor, Pendleton watches Judy grow, falling in love with her and becoming jealous of her attentions toward another young man. At the same time, Judy unknowingly meets her “Daddy Long Legs’ and falls in love, but is too embarrassed of her past to proceed. Pendleton believes that he hesitation is due to her love for another. It is only through a series of letters that Judy writes to Daddy Long Legs that she reveals her true feelings, eventually finding her happy ending.

An interesting article was published in the “Inter Ocean” on 12 April 1914 titled “Accidental Art” (page 32). It described some of the lighting for the production: “When Henry Miller was rehearsing ‘Daddy Long-legs,’ and while the play was in process of formation (for many changes were made during the first rehearsals), he was very anxious to show the shadow of Jervis Pendleton on the walls of the school room. It was his idea that this shadow could be made to explain the reason why pretty Judy nicknamed her benefactor Daddy Long-legs.

“Time after time Mr. Miller experimented with various lights and lighting effects to get the shadow on the wall, but he always found fault with the effect. Many sorts and kinds of automobile lights, spotlights and other devices were used to project the shadow into the room, and not one of them proved effective. In his mind Mr. Miller turned over the problems; thought o silhouettes. Lantern slides and dozens of other ideas, and turned them all down as impractical.

“Finally Miller and his assistants were at their wits’ end. Nothing seemed to answer for the effect desired. The company electrician had given up hope after exhausting all of his ingenuity.

“While the final consultation was ending, a house electrician was removing the various experimental apparatus, and at the end he changed position of an ordinary spotlight used to illuminate the stage for rehearsal. Across the stage swept a straight beam of light, wavered on the side walls and left the stage.

“‘There! You’ve got it!’ cried Mr. Miller. ‘There is the very thing we want! We can’t hope to make a Daddy Long-legs shadow, but we can have a perfect effect of an automobile turning in the drive outside and casting its lights through the window.’

“Since then the motor lights have flashed through the asylum window nightly, a fine stage effect that des not entail any expensive machinery and merely utilizes one of the usual electrical effects with which every theatre is equipped.”

Under the direction of Henry Miller, the 1914 cast included Frederick Truesdell (Jervis Pendleton), Charles Trowbridge (James McBride), Mrs. Jacques Martin (Mrs. Semple), Mrs. Jennie A. Eustace (Miss Prittchard), Miss Ethel Martin (Mrs. Pendleton), Miss Agnes Heron Miller (Julia Pendleton), Miss Cora Witherspoon (Sallie McBride), Miss Margaret Sayres (Mrs. Lippett) and Miss Ruth Chatterton (Judy).

In 1919, “Daddy Long Legs” was made into a silent movie, starring Mary Pickford as Judy and Mahlon Hamilton as Jervis Pendleton. Tomorrow, I will look at the production of Daddy Long Legs dolls to help the war effort during 1914-1915.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1914, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Did a big cyclorama drop for Ruth St. Denis; a dark blue sky, black trees and a high wall, very effective drop.”

On May 25, 1914, “The Evening Journal” announced, “Miss St. Denis after ending the summer season, will go to San Francisco, where she is having a special theater built for her at the Panama-Pacific Exposition” (page 2). Moses’ scenery was for this new theater. 1914 was a big year for St. Denis, as she also married Edwin Myers “Ted” Shawn. Shawn was a young dancer from Kansas City, Missouri who toured with St. Denis’ production.

St. Denis and Shawn later founded their own studio that became known as the “cradle of modern dance,” where students like Martha Graham, Charles Weidman and Doris Humphrey received their training before beginning studios of their own (Tulare Advance-Register, Tulare, CA, 22 July 1968, page 3).

Ruth St. Denis (1879-1968) was a pioneer in American modern dance and noted as “the first dancer to introduce the charm and mystery of Hindu dancing to Europe and American public” (“San Francisco Examiner,” 29 Nov. 1914, page 25). During the spring of 1914, St. Denis performed in “East of Suez,” a show that featured an exhibition of “Hindoo dances.”

The “San Francisco Examiner” reported, “Other forms of Oriental dancing had already become popular, but the subtlest of all, the Hindu art, was first interpreted for us by this American girl from Newark, N.J. Lately she has been giving Egyptian and Japanese dances” (29 Nov. 1914, page 25).  

St. Denis began her performance career in 1893, dancing for vaudeville. She was part of an act called “The Cherry Sisters.”  Ruth’s performance caught the attention of George W. Lederer who signed her up for his new production, “The Passing Show.” From musical comedy, St. Denis’s passed to the management of David Belasco. She toured for a period of five years under Belasco’s management, and during this time she performed in “Du Barry” and “Zaza.”

The “Arizona Daily Star” reported, “It was while under the tutelage of Belasco that she gained her first knowledge of light effects and stage management –a  knowledge which has been invaluable to her in the creation of her Oriental dances first at trial performance in a New York Vaudeville theater where they created such a sensation tat she was immediately engaged for a Fifth avenue theater and subsequently for a long engagement at the Hudson and Fullton theaters, New York. From there she went to London, Berlin and Paris, achieving a far greater success than any other dance artist has ever entertained. The creation of Hindoo dances by Miss St. Denis is the result of patient study, infinite thought and a deep delving into the mysterious philosophy of the Far East. Strange to say, she has never visited India, and yet she posses more information regarding that land of occultism than most Occidentals who have resided there during a lifetime” (23 Nov. 1914, page 8).

Karoun Tootikan for the “Los Angeles Times” wrote a lovely article about St. Denis when she passed away in 1968 (28, July 1968, page 511). I am including it today, because St. Denis’ legacy is quite prolific in the history of American dance:

“Over the years, the great and near-great have made pilgrimages to the Ruth St. Denis Dance Studio in Hollywood to observe, to learn and renew friendship with the indomitable Miss Ruth. The studio, with its faded front poser of the dancer (in a pose from her interpretations of the poems of Tagore) is now a memorial, for Miss Ruth is gone.

It was befitting, in a way, that the dancer, whose career spanned five generations, should choose July 21, a Sabbath, for the goodbye, since it was she who introduced the revolutionary work, ‘Rhada,’ in 1906, which brought to America the completely new idea of religious Hindu dancing in its purest and most esthetic forms.

She was helpful in her goal of popularizing interpretive dancing as a suitable career for young people by three contemporary dancers: Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller and Maude Allen, who all developed different forms of the dance. While St. Denis delved into Oriental religions for her main inspiration, Duncan became responsible for eliminating the old confines of classic movement, and danced barefoot in a light tunic. Fuller dressed in billowing silk skirts and lighted by various colored lights, she created spectacular forms with subtle variations and silhouettes, while Allen drew from all three for her sensational dance forms.

Whereas Duncan’s talent was best expressed by dancing with symphonies, Fuller’s in creating spectacular serpentine movements, St. Denis’ famous solos were, for the most part, confined to extreme discipline of movement and economy of gesture. Draped form head to toe in voluminous silk and jersey, Miss Ruth presented each nuance of movement in rippling waterfall effects inspiring great tranquility.

It was both Duncan and St. Denis’ great purpose to found a school where the essence of the dance could be taught to perpetuate their dreams. The Duncan Schools, both in Paris and Moscow, did not outlive the death of the dancer, who was strangled when her long red scarf became entangled in the back wheel of an automobile in 1928. By the Denishawn School of Dance (formed in 1914 in Los Angeles, with her husband, Ted Shawn) became a beacon of learning for some of America’s most illustrious proponents of modern, interpretative dancing.

Out of this conservatory came Martha Graham who toured extensively with the Denishawn Dancers and who later developed the individualized choreography in such creations as “Appalachian Spring” and “Night Journey.” Doris Humphrey, who joined Denishawn in 1916 and danced with the company for 12 years, also made her mark wit the electric ‘Lament for Ignacio Sanchez’ and ‘Ruins and Visions.’

Miss Ruth never officially retired and continued to give concerts as late as 1966. Separated from Ted Shawn since 1931, the famous couple nevertheless appeared together occasionally on the stage, most notably in recent years at the observance of the Golden Anniversary in 1964 at Shawn’s School, Jacobs Pillow, at Lee Mass.

Of Miss Ruth’s wide repertoire of original dances, four are perhaps indicative of her genius: ‘Incense,’ in which the rippling arm and hand movements first drew the attention of Ted Shawn who purportedly fell in love with her as she performed on stage in Denver; ‘Dance of the Cobras,’ wherein the hand movements become the snake charmer’s pet in an Indian market place; ‘White Jade,’ which was inspired by a visit to the Temple of Heaven in Peking and shows the Goddess of Mercy bestowing compassion upon the world: and ‘The Minstrel of Kashmiri,’ a Nautch Dance for which Charles Wakefield Cadman composed a special score.

A legend in her own time, Ruth St. Denis, at 91, whom dancer Charles Weidman once called ‘the most beautiful woman in the world,’ the mother of modern interpretive dance, will live on in the students whom she inspired to carry on her work.”

To be continued…

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

On February 15, 1914, the “Detroit Free Press,” reported that Sosman & Landis delivered the scenery for the New Palace Theater. The firm, under the direction of Thomas G. Moses,  also delivered stock scenery to other Palace theatres in Chicago (1912),  Minneapolis (1914), and Fort Wayne, Indiana (1914).

The “Detroit Free Press” announced, “Scenery is the Best. The scenery is from the Sosman & Landis studio of Chicago, leaders in the art, and for particular reasons the work is extraordinary. It is impossible to produce more attractive scenery during the composition and painting in Chicago many managers viewed it with not a little envy, as it is the last significance of the word ‘Palace’ will be seen very readily by those who attend. The seats are wide enough to be comfortable and are far apart. Every seat in the house affords a perfect view of the entire stage.”

Detroit’s Palace Theatre was located at 130-132 Monroe St, and advertised as “absolutely fireproof.” The article described all of the fire safety measures, including a roof that consisted of six-inch concrete.

C. A. and Graham Hoffman were responsible for the venue and selected Detroit for their new playhouse. Early in the spring of 1912, they started securing lease on the property in the “Great White Way” district of Detroit. The Palace Theater Co. was organized and incorporated on April 5. C. A. Hoffman was the general manager, with Graham acting as assistant manager and secretary.

Detroit’s Palace Theatre was designed by C. Howard Crane and later featured in “American Architect and Architecture,” Vol. 106, September 1914. Crane also designed Detroit’s Liberty Theatre, Opera House, Filmore, Fox Theatre, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Orchestra Hall.

The Place Theatre closed in 1928.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

In 1914, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Did a Vaudeville act for the Edelweiss Company.” Moses was referring to the “The Edelweiss Girl and Co.,” also billed as the “Edelweiss Trio” and simply “Edelweiss Girl.” 

The vaudeville act opened with a musical number, quickly changing to a sharpshooting exposition that featured marvelous marksmanship skills (Des Moines Tribune, 12 Dec. 1914, page 3). The Edelweiss girl and her two countrymen were all accomplished vocalists and the three sung native yodeling songs of the Tyrol region.  

The “Rock Island Argus” reported, “’The Edelweiss Girl’ is an Alpine sketch of a novel kind, with a beautiful mountain setting. The girl yodels and does some remarkable rifle shooting, in which she is assisted by a young man. One of the prettiest exhibitions is when the girl, while playing a number on the organ, is accompanied with chimes effect produced by rifle shots fired by her assistant” (16 Oct. 1914, page 13).

Of the scenery, the “Omaha Daily Bee,” commented, “Special Alpine scenery and effects are a feature of the act” (23 August 1914, page 17). An entire carload of special scenery accompanied the act to provide the Alpine setting and lighting effects. “The Times” described, “The scenic setting is arresting beauty, the sunrise in the Alps invariably getting a round of delighted applause” (Streator, Illinois, 26 Dec., 1914, page 5). The show was billed as a “Spectacular Scenic Sharpshooter” (The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 23 Oct. 1914, page 3).

Sosman & Landis delivered a similar scene and effect during the 1893 World Fair and  later at the Temple Roof Garden. The earliest mention was the scenery for “A Day in the Alps” at the Columbian Exposition’s Electric Scenic Theatre. Located in the Midway Plaissance of the World Fair, the electric theater displayed a picturesque Alpine setting that transitioned from day to night for each performance.

World Fair guidebooks noted, “The stage picture is a beautiful Swiss Alpine scenery, depicting in a realistic way every change of nature shown from dawn to night, as each gradually appears, and representing some of the most wonderfully realistic light effects ever produced by electric lamps. It is almost beyond belief that the visitor is not looking at a marvelous production of nature itself, instead of a picture created by an ingenious and artistic display of electric lights…Tyrolean warblers perform on their various instruments, and sing their tuneful lays. Their renowned ‘yodels,’ as sung at each performance, are applicable to the scenery.” Sosman & Landis later replicated this scenic who as a main attraction for the Masonic Temple roof garden in 1894.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

The same year that Walter W. Burridge passed away, an interesting article was written about the demise of the decorative painting business. Many scenic artists and studios relied on decorative painting work. Ornate auditoriums and picturesque murals were often the work of the same artists who delivered the stock scenery and stage machinery. However, the world of painting and its place in the theatre industry was changing.

“The Truth About the Painting Business,” was included in “The Road to Success,” was a publication by the Charles Kraut Academy of Decorative Art in Chicago.  Here is an the article that especially resonates with the state of scenic art today:

“The Truth About the Painting Business.

Of great importance to every man interested in the Painting and Decorating Business, be he Master or Workingman.

READ CAREFULLY AND EVERY LINE OF IT.

            The Painting business in the United States and Canada has been on the downward grade for a number of years. Every painter knows this and has wondered why it is that the Painter is classed now with the unskilled laborer, where in fact he ought to be considered a high grade and skillful mechanic.

            The reason is that the great majority of the Master Painters, as well as the Painter in general, have neglected to go with the times. The majority are satisfied with the “unskilled labor” part of the business. They are satisfied if they can even make a few dollars out of a job, which they got away, perhaps through unfair competition, from the other fellow, where by rights he ought to make good money and have twice the amount of work on the same job. Now-a-days a painter, if he thinks at all, thinks and tries to invent new mixtures to skin the work still more to beat his competitor, while by rights he ought to strive and learn something that the other fellow does not know and start in on a competition of skill, and persuade to House owners to have rooms decorated in refined taste. This will give him more work to do on individual jobs, he will be able to employ the working men longer, he will get more money for the job, he will be recognized as an artist and he will get more satisfaction and pleasure out of the work.

Now comes the objection that every painter springs on me, and that is: The public in general does not know anything about Art, the people are not educated in this direction and are well pleased with “wall paper” which is cheaper. I admit that this is true, but who’s fault is it tat the public is ignorant of Art, and especially Decorative Art?

“It is the duty of the Painter to educate the general public. The general public is willing, even anxious, to be educated in this line, every house owner, or the lady of every household will gladly listed to a painter in the direction, providing the painter knows what he is talking about and has a reputation in this direction; and as it stands now, there is only about one Painter in every hundred who can carry on a conversation of this sort which he will convenience the head of the household that he is able to carry out what he proposes. It is a wonder that people prefer to have their homes tinted in plain colors or are satisfied with wall paper?  Is it a wonder that they do not ask the painter to think up some decorative scheme for their rooms? They do not trust the man, because he does not make the suggestion himself, and consequently class him with the unskilled laborer.

In Europe, the general public is educated in this direction, and no flat, no matter how small, is without some decoration, free-hand work, while all the Residences, Churches, Theatres, etc. are elaborately decorated. Well, who would educate the people in Europe? Do you suppose this line is taught in the public schools? No, the Painter did this; in Europe competition in skill is considered first and above the competition twice

[Me: Re-read the last line, as this was the case in American until a notable shift occurred during the 1890s].

Is it not high time that something is done to regain the prestige of the Painter in this Country and to get more and better work at higher profits?

This can only be done by first educating the individual Master Painter and workingman, and he in turn is bound to educate the general public. It is high time that a move in this direction should be taken. Every Master Painter and Painter has the opportunity now to educate himself and at very little expense. Of course he can not learn in a month or one year everything which a practical Decorator must know, but he can gradually educate himself by practicing during his spare hours at home, an opportunity that is not given the painter in Europe.

A man who can afford to practices and study for about three months at a stretch every year (during Winter) will do wonders in that line. A man can become a skilled and high grade mechanic only be devoting his spare tie to study and practice for a year or two, and if he makes up his mind to succeed, he cannot fail, if he practices as much as is necessary, and he will never regret having taken the trouble.

At every Convention of Master Painters and Painters so far, it has always been emphasized that it is necessary to educate the Painter in the business,-the school question has always been a leading item, If the Master Painters and Painters will only co-operate in the direction laid down by me, a revolution in our profession is sure to come. Educate yourself, tell your men to acquire and education in the business and to become Decorators, and the education of the public is bound to follow.

Do not be afraid of over-production in this line. Only the narrow man will think it. There is no over-production in Europe, although schools have been turning out Decorators for over 100 years, and the schools are still growing. The more Decorators there are, the more the general public will become educated in this line. Within a short time competition in skill will take place in the painting and decorating business in this Country, and the man not educated in this line will have to be satisfied to be known and classed with the laborer, while the other man who gets an education in the decorating business will have the opportunity and ability to complete with the man who is taking the extra cream of the work now, and by that competition in skill will ensue. Your old customers will certainly have more respect for you, if you can prove that you are able to execute artistic work.

It is high time that a move in this direction should be started, because the most beautiful of all styles in decorative work is coming to us now. This is the “Up-to-date Conception of the Italian Renaissance,” a style in which very elaborate Ornaments, Flowers and Figures are employed, To be able to do this kind of work, a schooling is absolutely necessary, as the work is all frees-hand, and stencils will not be used, You can watch this style breaking through everywhere. Look at the new Furniture, Frames, or Wood-work (trim) of high grade work, go to the leading Hotels and look at the Banquet Halls and Lobbies which have been decorated recently, and you will see the new direction, Within two of three years it will be in full swing, and you ought to prepare yourself and also tell your men to prepare themselves to be able to meet the demand when it comes.”

But a world war was just waiting around the corner, and the education that he spoke of took a different turn. This sets the groundwork for Thomas G. Moses 1914 entry in August.

To be continued…

Here are a few examples of decorative painting at Schloss Rosenau in Austria. Here is one of many links about this interesting building: https://www.inspirock.com/austria/schloss-rosenau/osterreichisches-freimaurermuseum-im-schloss-rosenau-a1254825113

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

A reporter from Chicago’s “Inter Ocean” interviewed Walter Burridge on June 8, 1902 (page 42). His interview took place while Burridge worked on the stage set for “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz;” the production opening at the Grand Opera House. This is a great snapshot of information pertaining to his approach to a design and the production process.

“How Scenic Work is Done.

“How does the scene painter go to work on a new production? “ Mr. Burridge smiled at this question. “I don’t known just how to begin explaining,” he said. “There are so many details that it is a hard matter to explain. Suppose, however, that a manager tells me he has decided to produce a play or opera or a description of the scenes furnished by the author. In such a lay-out there is a detailed write-up of the action, as to whether a character enters through a door and jumps over a cliff. These points are called the practical notes, the artist making a careful study of the play and noting all the important points, action, and locality, the period, time of day, etc.

“If possible the studies are made on the ground, and should the scene be laid in the present time and in a place easily accessible to the artist he obtains photographs and makes studies and sketches. When Mr. Hamlin put on “Arizona,” three summers ago at the Grand he sent Frederick Remington and myself to Aravalpa valley, and a delightful pilgrimage we had, positively one of the most enjoyable artistic experiences in my artistic career.

“In the case of “The Wizard of Oz,” however, the story is laid in fairyland, so I am obliged to draw from my imagination for the scenes to fit the action of the play. First of all I make a ground plan of each act and the separate scenes, drawing a diagram on a scale of one-inch to the foot. On this scale I draw the different parts of the scenes on cardboard, finishing the model in watercolor, pastel, charcoal, or sometimes simply in pencil. When the different parts are ready and cut out they are fitted and glued together upon the line of the ground plan upon a miniature stage, the front of which is modeled in shape like a proscenium opening of a theater. The model is a reduced copy of the stage setting, so that one realizes the relative proportions in color and composition.

“At the Paris Exposition, the scene model exhibit was one of the features of the fair, being a picture history of the theater in France for a hundred years. The creation of the scene and the model is one of the most interesting of the many processes that constitute the scene painter’s art. The uninitiated in the theatrical world would be surprised to see the odds and ends used in the make-up of a model – glue, pieces of coal, clay, plaster of Paris, sticks, wire, gauze, muslin, and colored gelatins. In one of the scenes of “The Wizard of Oz,” the entire depth of the stage will be used to represent the approach to the throne room of the Wizard, and it will be lighted with hundreds of illuminated globes. In making my model I was obliged to use small pearls to indicate the globes. The time spent with the models pays in the end. With a complete model one thoroughly understands the practicalities of the scene, its color, lighting, etc., and changes are easy to make. To re-make and alter the scene proper, however, would entail an enormous amount of expense.

“After my models have been approved they were given to the master carpenter who superintends their construction, builds the scenes and delivers them to the artist to be painted. The different sections of scenery are taken from the carpenter shop to the paint-room or ‘bridge.’ The paint frame I am now using is the largest in this country. It is seventy-five feet long and forty feet high, and it is lowered and raised by water power along the rear wall of the stage of the Auditorium. The carpenter attaches to this frame the different portions of scenery to be painted. Drops are tacked on the paint frame, which are then raised to a level with the paint bridge floor. The assistants then ‘prime’ a canvas with a coating of glue and whiting, and artists begin work with charcoal placed in a crayon-holder on the end of a stick, observing the proportions as they appear in the model. The artist, as a rule, paints by daylight, so he must make allowance for the effect of artificial light on his colors. He must make his tones stronger because the calcium and footlights invariably bleach them out, and when a daylight effect is called for of a moonlight one he must allow for the lighting-up of the scene as the time and action differ in each set or scene. “Yellow or amber light dominates the daylight effects; blue is the tone for moonlights-green is used by some, but I prefer blue, as experience has taught me that a green tone tends to make the faces of the characters appear ghastly.”

To be continued…

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Walter W. Burridge was a good friend and colleague of Thomas G. Moses. In 1887, they established the scenic art firm Burridge, Moses and Louderback, with well-known art dealer Walter Louderback. In 1914, Burridge died after sketching scenes of the Grand Canyon for two months. His work was part of the Santa Fe Railroad’s $300,000 exhibit for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. Many newspapers covered Burridge’s death and burial, but it was the “Brooklyn Daily Eagle” that provided a wonderful recount of his achievements (Brooklyn, NY, 26 June 1913, page 20). Although I have written extensively about Burridge in the past, this is a lovely summery of his life:

“WALTER W. BURRIDGE SCENIC ARTIST DIES.

Brooklyn Man Succumbs to Heart Disease at Albuquerque, New Mexico.

STOOD AT TOP OF PROFESSION.

Was Engaged on Big Contract for Panama Exposition When End Came.

Word was received in Brooklyn today, that Walter W. Burridge, one of the foremost scene painter of his time, has been found dead in a hotel in the little city of Albuquerque, N.M., yesterday. Death was attributed to heart disease super induced by acute indigestion. Mr. Burridge had just arrived in Albuquerque from the Grand Canyon, where he had been painting pictures for two months. He was 56 years old.

Walter Burridge was a Brookylnite, born and bred, and very well known as a painter of theatrical scenery. In 1903, he executed at the Academy of Music the largest scenery contract ever awarded to a scenic artist. $200,000 worth of scenery, including eighty complete sets and 300 hanging pieces, was turned out under his supervision. The work was done for Henry W. Savage, manager of the Castle Square Opera Company. Its most important feature was the preparation of special sets of scenery for each one of the operas in the Castle Square Opera Company repertoire. One of the pieces he completed was the magnificent storm scene in the first act of Verdi’s ‘Othello.” It was considered the piece de resistance of all the scenic effects ever produced at the Academy.

Mr. Burridge had, at one time or another, been associated with all the prominent actors and actresses in the country, among them Otis Skinner, Julia Arthur and Margaret Miller.

Mr. Burridge’s father, Henry, was the proprietor of the old Mason’s Arms Inn, on Myrtle Avenue, which was noted in its time as a resort for artists and actors. The leading lights of both professions met there frequently and the boy learned to know them well.

Young Burridge had a magnificent soprano voice and sang as a choir boy in St. Anne’s Church, the Church of the Redeemer, and St. John’s Church, where he was solo singer. His voice bade fair to connect him with the stage in another capacity than that of a scenic painter.

As a boy, Mr. Burridge helped produce the scenic waves at the old Park Theatre, by doing stunts on his hands and knees under a layer of canvas, The old theater carried with it many pleasing reminiscences for him. There he met Fred Chippendale and his wife. Later, at the Brooklyn Theater, which stood on the site of the present Eagle building, he was fortunate enough to attract the attention of Harley Merry, who was a great scenic artist of his day, He was apprenticed to Merry at the age of 13 and scored his first success by painting a water fall that had to be gotten out during his master’s absence.

Mr. Burridge did most of his work in the West. Thirty-five years ago, he painted many cycloramas. For the Philadelphia Centennial he painted the ‘Siege of Paris,’ and supervised the reproduction of the well-known ‘Battle of Gettysburg.’ He also executed a Government commission in Hawaii. He was sent there to paint a cycloramic picture of the great volcano, Kilauea, which was part of the Government exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair.

Hugo Gerber, manager of the Lee Lash Studios at 1476 Broadway, Manhattan, who knew Mr. Burridge well, said today that he received a telegram from the West confirming the news of the death of Mr. Burridge. ‘His wife was with him at the time,’ he said. ‘Mr. Burridge had been working for us lately and had been sketching in the Grand Canyon. He was preparing some very important work there for the Panama Exposition, but I don’t know the details of it.

‘We expected Mr. Burridge to return East in a short time. The telegram we received was from his wife. It did not state the cause of death.

‘Mr. Burridge had done much big work for Klaw & Erlanger, but principally for Henry W. Savage. One of the last pieces of work he did was painting the scenery for ‘The Trail of Lonesome Pine.’ He was one of the most prominent scenic painter in the country.”

Burridge was survived by his wife, son Walter, two brothers, Cyril and Harry Burridge (New York and Marblehead, Mass.), and a sister, Miss Sarah Burridge (of Brooklyn). The loss of this artist in the prime of his career was immeasurable, a shock to the fine art and theatre worlds. He had so much potential and the Grand Canyon exhibit was to be one of the pinnacles of his career.

There is so much more to Burridge’s story and his accomplishments that I could not include in today’s post. However, I will end with a quote from Burridge in 1902:

“Did you ever stop to think,” said Walter Burridge, one of the best-known scenic artists in the country, “how the public says all kinds of nice things about some popular theatrical production and throws bouquets at everyone connected with it, except the man who painted the scenery? Of course the man doesn’t care a rap for fame. His soul is wrapped up in his work; he never comes before the gaze of the public, and never wants to. But at the same time, it is a curious fact that the scenic artist is an individual whose personality never becomes known to the public. If he paints a particularly beautiful scene it never fails to elicit round after round of applause. The people who are applauding, however, do not know who executed the painting, and they don’t care. It is pretty and that is enough for them.” When Burridge was interviewed by Chicago’s “Inter Ocean” on June 8, 1902, he was putting the finishing touches on the scenes that were to be used in the production “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” that was opening at the Grand Opera House the next week (page 42).

To be continued…

Copyright © 2019 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

During the summer of 1913, plans were announced for a Grand Canyon Exhibit at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco for 1915. Walter W. Burridge was hired to create a series of 100-feet long oil reproductions of the Grand Canyon. On June 25 1913, the “San Francisco Call” announced, “SANTA FE AT WORK ON GRAND CANYON EXHIBIT. Reproduction for Fair to Cost $300,000. Illusion Will Be Perfected by Canvases and Modeling.” The article reported, “Plans for the $300,000 reproduction of the Grand Canyon of Arizona, the exposition exhibit of the Santa Fe Railroad, were outlined yesterday by W. F. Sesser in a communication to the exposition company. Walter W. Burridge who will paint the canvasses, is on an extensive tour of the canyon with Mr. Sesser. The work will be made up of canvases and stone modeling. Rocks, trees, cactus and shrubbery have been collected for the model” (page 18).

Other newspapers soon included and an interview with Sesser of the exhibit:

“F. Fraser, manager of the Santa Fe exhibits, and who will have charge of the $300,000 reproduction of the Grand Canyon, of Arizona, at he Panama-Pacific International Exposition, in an interview, gives some interesting information about the construction of the exhibit. ‘In the production of this work,’ said Sesser,’I have had with me at the canyon Walter W. Burridge, one of America’s greatest painters; Charles R. Fisher, J. C. Schwerdt and a full equipment of guides and helpers. Captain John Hance, the hermit of the canyon, has been with us all the time. We have made studies at ten of the principal points of the canyon that will embrace in the exhibit we are to make the most grand and magnificent portions of the canyon. ‘We are gathering rocks, trees, cactus and shrubbery of all kinds from the rim of the canyon, which we will use in constructing the facsimile rim at the Grand Canyon exhibit. We will build a portion of Hermit trail, showing a trail party in motion, actual figures being constructed in correct position to accomplish this effect. In one section we will reproduce a storm in the canyon. We will also, in another section, have the effect of moonlight and sunset, with beautiful El Tovar hotel illuminated at night on the rim. ‘We are forwarding to San Francisco the first consignment of our studies in oil, pastel and water color, with color keps [?], color tones, dimensions, positions and the data necessary for the carrying out of the scheme. ‘I am going into the Indian villages, accompanied by Burridge and the rest of the party, for the purpose of making careful notes and studies of the Puebla life, as this will be an important feature, occupying the second floor of our front construction, In this part of the exhibit will be housed Hopi and Navajo Indian villages. Here the Indians will be engaged in their daily occupations, the same as in their original villages” (Victoria Daily Times, June 30, 1913, page 3).

Burridge traveled to Albuquerque after painting pictures for two months. He was found dead in his bed at the Alvarado hotel the evening of his arrival. Death was attributed to heart disease, caused by acute indigestion.  His widow received the news at the home of H. M. Smith, 438 Maple avenue, Oak Park, where she was a guest at he time. Burridge was only 56 years old and newspapers across the country reported, “His work of the Grand Canyon he had hoped to make the best of his career and fulfill his ambitions as a scenic artist.”

After his passing, the Santa Fe Railroad selected a another scenic artist, and friend of Burridge, to complete the paintings of the southwest – Edgar Payne.

Next summer, the exhibit was well underway. On August 27, 1914, the “Fergus Country Democrat” reported, “A panoramic reproduction of the Grand Canyon is being built at the Panama-pacific International exposition at a cost of over $300,000; over fifty thousand square yards of linen canvas, imported from Scotland, are being used for the set pieces. Visitors in this concession will view the panoramic from observation parlor cars, moved by electricity on an elevated trestle, seemingly along the rim of the canyon. The observer will be enabled to see eight of the most distinctive points of the canyon and the ride will last over half an hour, including, apparently, a journey of more than one hundred miles of the great gorge. Every resource of modern science is employed in the work of this production” (page 11). The “Joliet News” added, “The Grand Canyon concession is built upon so prodigious a scale that visitors will view the canvases from a standard gauge railway coach running on a standard gauge track” (Joliet, Illinois, 11 Feb. 1915, page 5).

When the World Fair opened, the Panama-Pacific attraction was located in the “Joy Zone” of the world fair. The “Peoples Easy Guide” described the attraction:

“Grand Canyon of Arizona

With an entrance like a typical railroad station of the Santa Fe in New Mexico, where we can seat ourselves in the tiny electric trains and be conveyed over mountain passes, through deserts and past villages till we reach the replica of the Grand Canyon of Arizona. Here we will descend and visit the Indian Colony, inspect the weaving of the Navajo blankets and the making of pottery and other crafts by the Indians brought here for the purpose.”  

To be continued…