In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Dave Adam’s funeral on June 24th. Rupert and I went in his car. Dave was a fine fellow and was only 40 years of age. He had made quite a hit with his pictures.” Adam specialized in portrait painting and taught at the Art Institute of Chicago.
David L. Adams, 1922
David L. Adam died on June 20, 1924 and was buried four days later at the Irving Park Blvd. Cemetery. On June 21, 1924, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “David L. Adam, Artist Dies After Operation” (page 8). The obituary notice described, “David L. Adam. 40 years old, former president of the Palette and Chisel club, 1012 North Dearborn street, and widely known as an artist, died at the Columbus hospital yesterday afternoon following an operation. The funeral will be held Tuesday from the undertaking rooms of C. Kraupse, 3905 Lincoln avenue.”
David Livingston Adam was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 8, 1883. He was the son of William Palaue Adam (b. 1846) and Isabella Kilpatrick (b. 1849) Adams. Born in 1884, he was one of four children born to the couple. His brother, William Jr., was born in 1881, his sister Mary in 1882, and his sister Isabella in 1885. The family emigrated from Scotland in 1897, settling in Chicago where William Sr., William Jr. and David all worked as artists. The 1900 census listed their occupation as “copyist and artist.” That year, the family was living at 5926 Ontario Street.
Prior to his arrival in America, David had studied at the Glasgow School of art with Jean Delville and M. Greiffenhagen. In America, Adam continued his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago and was active in the Palette & Chisel Club. This was where he became close friends with Moses. He and Moses selected the final site for the club’s summer home at Fox Lake. In Moses’ scrapbook there was an article from the mid-1920s entitled, “The Camp Tradition Draws Members to Fox Lake.” The article noted the selection of the club’s summer location: “The present site was elected by Tom Moses and the late Dave Adam, and their choice was immediately ratified by the erection of a more pretentious camp building that we have ever before.” The club’s summer quarters at Fox Lake were described on Oct. 2, 1921, in the “Chicago Tribune”- “During the summer months the club maintains a place at Fox Lake for outdoor painting. The ‘Summer Camp,’ as it is called, is the property of the club and comprises a clubhouse of sufficient size to accommodate seventy-five persons. It occupies a site adjacent to the lake.”
In 1921, Adam was president of the Palette and Chisel Club. That year, the Palette and Chisel Club was featured in the “Chicago Tribune” when the club became part of the North Side Colony. In 1921 the Palette & Chisel Club also opened its new quarters on 1012 North Dearborn street. For the opening David L. Adam was listed as the master of the ceremonies (Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct 1921, page 18). As his term was ending at the club, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “At a recent meeting of the Palette and Chisel club Glen Scheffer was elected president for the coming year. He takes the office from David L. Adam, under whose presidency the club has made great strides during the last year. It now has a membership of 200, which it is hoped will be increased by 350 in the near future. Sketch classes are held four nights a week” (12 Feb 1922, page 76). On April 3, 1922, he was interviewed by “the Inquiring Reporter” for the “Chicago Tribune.” When Adam was asked, “What is your best cure for the blues?” at the Palette and Chisel Club, he responded, “I so seldom have had the blues that I hardly know whether they are blue or black or what. Prevention is better than any cure, and I have to do that by having so many outside interests.”
At the time of his death, Adam’s occupation was listed as a teacher, specializing in portraiture at the Art Institute. His is just one more tale of a talent that ended too soon.
Over the years, Moses saw so many artists cut down at their prime. This list included Moses’ first mentor, Louis Malmsha of McVicker’s, and his one-time business partner Walter Burridge. There is something tragic about an artist who dies so early in life, just when the sun is starting to shine. You never see them grow old, their artistic styles shift, or them overcome any of life’s later obstacles. They are frozen in time, always full of promise and potential.
Two painting by David Livingston Adam.Amelia Earhart by David L. Adam, 1919.Painting by David L. Adam, 1923.
In 1923, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I put in fully a week in Binghamton at the Arlington Hotel on designs for Masonic work and I believe we will get the contract.”
Arlington Hotel in Binghamton, New York
Sosman & Landis didn’t get the contract but Moses still painted the scenery. Somehow, David Hunt of New York Studios landed the profitable contract. Keep in mind that New York Studios was the eastern affiliate of Sosman & Landis, and Sosman & Landis was preparing to close.
From the “Press and Sun Bulletin,” 21 Nov 1923, page 17.
By summer, Moses wrote, “I have arranged to go to Binghamton, N.Y. for Hunt, $2,500.00 for the job. Sent Loitz on ahead, September 5th.”
Moses was referring to Ed Loitz. Loitz, who had worked with Moses since the 1883. He was a loyal painting assistant and friend who had followed Moses across the country, working alongside him wherever he went. Whether Moses had established a partnership, or was working at Sosman & Landis, Loitz was there. Loitz traveled one step ahead, preparing the next jobsite for Moses’ arrival and then workied on site. Loitz was almost a decade younger than Moses, being born in 1865. In 1923, they had been working together for forty years together. At the time, Moses was sixty-seven years old and Loitz was fifty-eight years old. Loitz was both a scenic artist and carpenter, taking care of everything needed before Moses arrived on site to paint.
Scenery painted by Thomas G. Moses, assisted by Ed Loitz. From the “Press and Sun Bulletin,” 21 Nov 1923, page 17.Scenery painted by Thomas G. Moses, assisted by Ed Loitz. From the “Press and Sun Bulletin,” 21 Nov 1923, page 17.
Moses was still splitting his time between painting for Hunt (New York Studios) and Sosman & Landis. Sosman & Landis were in the process of liquidating all assets and closing their doors. Moses and Fred Megan were waiting to purchase the name.
The New York Studios project was the stock scenery collection for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Binghamton, New York. This project was completed was just before Moses realized that Chicago Studios was sending out letters to Sosman & Landis clients, explaining that they were the successor to Sosman & Landis, already having secured the same address. David S. Hunt was behind the establishment of Chicago Studios, as well as running both New York Studios and Sosman & Landis. Even though he knew Moses was going to purchase the Sosman & Landis name after the company liquidated their assets, Hunt was using his position at Sosman & Landis to his advantage to discredit any new iteration of Sosman & Landis. This would all happen in November 1923 while he was on site in Binghamton.
On October 17, 1923, Binghamton’s “Press and Sun-Bulletin” featured Moses and his work. The article was entitled “Vies with Nature in Realms of Beauty,” and stated, “Thomas G. Moses Wields a Well-nigh Magic Brush in Painting Scenery, Curtains and Drops for New Masonic Temple.” Here is the article in its entirety:
“Thomas G. Moses of Chicago. Representing New York Studios, who is painting scenery, curtains and drops for the stage in the auditorium of the Masonic Temple under construction at Main and Murray streets, need no assistance of Brownies or other mystical helpers in making things beautiful in the opinion of those who have seen examples of his work.
Fairyland in all its mystical wonderfulness could not surpass the beauty that is represented on the canvas with the paint from the brushes carefully wielded by Moses. Mechanical curtains on which a moon may be seen rising, Persian temple interiors and water, wooded and open scenes are all in the new temple to bring admiration from all the Masons who are privileged to see them all.
Forty drops are being painted by Mr. Moses.”
[Moses was being paid $2,500 dollars for the project, so we can estimate that his average painting fee per drop was no more than $62.50/each, assuming he wasn’t paying for travel, lodging or meals out of that amount. The money equivalent of $62.50 in 1923 is $952.02 in 2021.The contract was for $12,000]
“Each set is used for some one of the 32 degrees prescribed in the ranks of the fraternity. Each degree is exemplified in a different setting. Some are on the plains, others in a temple painted from Biblical descriptions of King Solomon’s temple, extensive Egyptian quarries and water scenes.
The full equipment will be used for the first time on Nov. 18, 19 and 20, when the annual reunion of Otseningo Consistory, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, will be held. Exemplification of degree work at that time will be the first that it has been done in full form in four years. Equipment of the Masonic body was destroyed four years ago in a fire in the temple on Chenango street.
All paintings of the scenery are done by Mr. Moses from scale drawings which he completed several months ago. The small scale drawings were drawn from outlines by officers of lodges here. Mr. Moses on a platform suspended from the top of the loft sketches in charcoal on the canvass the scene which he wishes to paint.
Mr. Moses is assisted by Edward Loitz, who has traveled from coast to coast with Mr. Moses working on many contracts. Installation of the drops is supervised by H. E. Naile. The three men have worked together in many cities, their last contract being in Little Rock, Ark.
The stage in the temple here and the scenery and drops being painted are the largest ever handled in a Masonic Temple by Mr. Moses. He says he is well satisfied with the progress of his work and in a short time it will be finished. He expects to remain here to paint some work for another temple.
Products of the brush of Mr. Moses and his assistant, Mr. Loitz, are not entirely new to Binghamton. Mr. Moses painted the landscapes and architectural exteriors for the State hospital theater and Mr. Loitz did the interiors. Mr. Moses painted the original scenery for the Stone Opera House and upon visiting that place a few days ago he found some of the equipment still in use.
Tom Moses, as he is nationally known, was found today busily engaged in painting a drop 21 feet by 40 feet representing an interior of an old German chapel. The picture is complete with stained glass windows and the chapel is profusely decorated with flags, shields and bits of armor.
Tom Moses’ father was a captain of a sailing vessel and when he left the bounding main he started a leather business. He intended his son should follow his footsteps. The world might have been richer with a reliable captain or an expert on leather, but Tom had ideas for a different vocation, and thus the world has not been deprived of a master painter who transfers the sometimes unreal to the real with an intricate movement of his paint brush.
All this was 45 years ago. During the 45 years he has been painting scenery, Mr. Moses has gained much praise throughout the land. His friends are legion. He is short and stocky and has a radiating personality that brings a friendly reception wherever he goes and he has no enemies.
Born in Liverpool, England, in 1856, more than 67 years ago, of English parentage, Mr. Moses came to America with his father and mother but when a little child and settled in Sterling, Ill. His father was a sea captain and later a tanner. Tom’s mother, who died when he was but a youngster, possessed an exceedingly artistic nature and did much to install into her son the love of artistic.
Tom’s father was strict and was certain that the boy would be “better off” as a tanner with his brawny arms wrestling with a piece of hairy hide and covered with tannin. Use of a hickory switch proved to Tom that this would probably be much after his father declared only starvation faced the starving artists.
One try at the tanning game convinced Tom that he would rather be an artist. At the age of 17 he left home “with a forwarding address.” He hired out as a paint boy in the Chicago studio of P. M. Almini. Louis Malmsha, director of the company, recognized the ability in the recently hired paint boy. In a year he had advanced in wages from $4 a week to $21, but the rapid rise was due to his persevering work.
Robert Hopkin, a scenic artist in Detroit, Mich., was the next person to obtain the services of the rising artist. At the age of 20 he returned to his home and married Miss Ella Robbin. The couple lived there until 1880 when they went to Chicago where Mr. Moses started working for the Sosman & Landis Co. He painted the first work of this concern.
In his long and varied career, Mr. Moses has done work for many famous artists and for many famous productions. It was he who designed and executed the original “Floradora” sets for John C. Fisher. He did them, not only once, but four times. The work of Tom Keene, John McCullough, Booth and Barrett, Col. Cody (Buffalo Bill), Julia Marlowe, Robert Lober, Joseph Murphy, Conried and Herman, Emma Abbott, Emma Juch, Sarah Bernhardt, Mme. Modjeska, and score of other greater and lesser figures of the American stage was enhanced by scenery executed by Thomas G. Moses.
Some of the famous productions, in addition to “Floradora,” which Mr. Moses has made are “Shenandoah,” and “Old Kentucky,” famous melodramas; “Marie Antoinette,” “Mary Stuart” and “Macbeth” for Mme. Modjeska; “Judas” for Mme. Bernhardt. Joseph Jefferson’s last “Rip Van Winkle”; “The Holy City,” “By Right Sword,” “Lost in the Desert,” “Quo Vadis,” “The Witch,” “Robinson Crusoe,” “Ben Hur” and scores of other big productions.
He has also produced some of those famous Luna Park spectacles at Coney Island, such as “Fire and Flames,” “The War of the Worlds,” “Trip to the Moon,” “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” “The Streets of Delhi” and others. “The Streets of Delhi” was produced at a cost of $100,000.
In the art world outside of scene painting he has received much recognition. He has the distinction of being a member of the world-famous Salmagundi club, that noted organization of artists in New York. Mr. Moses is also a member of the Chicago Society of Arts, the famous Palette and Chisel Club, the California Art Club of Los Angeles and the Laguna Art association of Laguna Beach, Cal.
Rapid advance of motion pictures has crimped the scenic painting industry, Mr. Moses says. “Because of the fewer number of dramatic shows now there is a less demand for drops. Movies take the place of the dramatic productions that one time held sway.”
In 1920 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Early in June I went to Fox
Lake to see about tearing down the club houses and moving them to another place…
I go up to Fox Lake every Saturday, looking after the house and I hope to complete
it on time.”
The Palette & Chisel Club House at Fox Lake.
Moses was back at Sosman & Landis after two tumultuous
years of working for New York Studios and Chicago Studios. He was constantly suffering from headaches
much of the time and had all but six teeth extracted. Yet he made time to visit
and work on the Palette & Chisel Club’s house on Fox Lake. In two years, he
would lose interest and begin focusing on the west coast.
In 1904, Moses became a member of the Salmagundi Club in New
York, sponsored by R. M. Shurtleff. Moses
joined the Palette & Chisel Club when he was 50 years old in 1906.
Founded in 1895, the Palette & Chisel Club was an
association of artists and craftsmen for the purpose of work and study. The
organization’s members were reported to be “all wage-workers, busy during the
week with pencil, brush or chisel, doing work to please other people” (Inland
Printer, 1896). But on Sunday mornings, they assembled for five hours to paint
for themselves.
In 1905, the members of the Palette and Chisel Club
established a seasonal camp at Fox Lake, Illinois.
In 1906 Moses wrote, “I joined the Palette and Chisel Club
at the Chicago Society of Artists. I
don’t know why, as I had so little time to give to pictures, but I live in
hopes of doing something someday, that is what I have lived on for years, Hope,
and how little we realize from our dreams of hope. As the years roll by, I think one’s whole
life is one continuous dream, unless we are wonderfully gifted and fame drops
on us while we sleep.”
The year that Moses joined the Palette and Chisel Club, the
group consisted of sixty local painters, illustrators, and sculptors. The
Chicago Tribune reported that it was “primarily a working club, being the
oldest organization in the west” (Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 1906, page 2). That
year, the club’s new enterprise was the maintenance of a permanent exhibition
in the clubrooms on the seventh floor of the Athenæum building.
In the beginning it was quite rustic. Of the camping
experience, Moses wrote, “June 1st, I made my first trip to the
Palette and Chisel Club camp at Fox Lake, Ill.
Helped to put up the tent. A new
experience for me, but I enjoyed it. I
slept well on a cot. Made a few
sketches. A very interesting place. I don’t like the cooking in the tent and
there should be a floor in the tent. I
saw a great many improvements that could be made in the outfit and I started
something very soon.” The Palette and Chisel Club camp drew a variety of
artists during the summer months. An
artistic community was formed along the shores of Fox Lake, providing a haven
far away from the hustle and bustle of work in Chicago. There were many Sosman
& Landis employees who also became members of the Palette & Chisel
Club, escaping to Fox Lake whenever they could.
In 1908, Moses wrote, “I bought the portable house that we
built years ago and at that time we received $300.00 for it. I finally got it for $50.00, some
bargain. It cost $25.00 to remove it and
we will put it up at Fox Lake in the Spring.
It has been used in Forest Park all summer to show “The Day in the
Alps.”
By 1909, Moses wrote, “As we had
put up the portable house in Fox Lake, I was better contented to go up. I gave the camp a portable kitchen and it was
some class. I felt sure I would manage
to get a camp outfit worth while and the boys all fell in line with me.” Moses
enjoyed his scenic retreats to Fox Lake, escaping from the hard grind of the
studio whenever he could during the summer. He painted numerous landscapes of
Fox Lake and the Palette & Chisel camp house over the years, including on that
I own from 1909. “
Painting of Fox Lake by Thomas G. Moses. Back side. Painting of Fox Lake by Thomas G. Moses.
In 1910, Moses wrote, “Fox Lake
appealed to me all summer. I went up as
much as possible and made good use of my time.
How I wished in vain for time and money to spend all summer
sketching. I know I could do something
worthwhile.” Regardless of his own opinion, Moses was making progress in the
eyes of Palette and Chisel Club members. By 1912 the Palette and Chisel Club
honored Thomas G. Moses by giving him a big dinner and a new nickname – “Uncle
Tom” of the Club.
By 1913, Moses was still
spending time at Fox Lake, writing, “I enjoyed the summer at Fox Lake, as the
motorboat kept us busy and I enjoyed the water.
I also did quite a number of sketches, a few very good, balance rather
doubtful.” That same year, he wrote,
“The Palette and Chisel Club boys wanted me to give an exhibit at the
club. I always refused, claiming that I
am not in the picture game, and paint pictures for pleasure only. September 3rd, a committee came to
the house and insisted on going to the studio, I had over three hundred
pictures in the studio; some very good but the other 275 were not as good, but
the boys seemed to think I had at least 250 good ones, which was quite
flattering.” That year, Moses also commented, “The Palette and Chisel Club were
anxious to buy a lot near the lake, but we found it would cost too much.” Yet
the search for a new home continued the following year.
In 1914, Moses wrote, “Early in
April a number of Palette and Chisel Club boys, including myself, went to Fox
Lake to look for a new site. We didn’t
find anything worthwhile, so we will remain where we are for another season… Miss
Maude Oliver, Art Critic of the Herald, wanted to see the animals fed and
housed, so she went to Fox Lake to the camp.
She requested that we all act perfectly natural and not put on any
frills and do nothing out of the ordinary to entertain her. I never saw a bunch act worse. It was awful.
I think she got plenty of local color and artistic atmosphere for her
article in the Sunday Herald the next week – convinced me that she had drunk a
glass full of camp life…I am not very regular at Fox Lake this year and I miss
sketching. I also miss my rocks and
running brooks. I have to go some
distance for that kind of a motive.”
By 1915, Moses commented about
the Palette and Chisel Club’s new site on Fox Lake, “April 17th a
crowd of us went to Fox Lake and took down the old house and moved it to our
new site south of the track on a very high hill, overlooking Pistakee Bay. Got the carpenter and lumberyard men together
and we arranged for credit and ordered the material for a new house 22 x 50, was
soon ready for members. We certainly got
great sport in assisting the carpenter.
Pretty hard work for an artist, but they all did very well.”
The next few years include only
a few sporadic entries in Moses’ memoirs. In 1917, Moses wrote, “I went to Fox
Lake on Decoration Day, official opening.
I had a new cot sent up and it was certainly and improvement over the
old one. I actually rest now and enjoy
going up.” In 1918, Moses wrote, “I have not been out to Fox Lake this year,
the first I have missed in twelve years.
The business is in such an upset condition that I felt I should stick to
it.” In 1919, Moses and his son Rupert made several trips to Fox Lake where he
made a few sketches. He wrote, “It is
very nice to make the trip in a car, as we made it in three hours. The roads were not any too good.”
By 1922, Moses wrote, “I made one trip to Fox Lake
Camp. It is not the same, and I am very
sorry to say that I have lost interest in it, besides I feel that all the good
sketching had been worked to death.” He did not write about Fox Lake again.
In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote,
“Saw the “Daughter of the Sun” show, then went to Trenton for Thanksgiving
dinner. The Sunday before I left New York, I went down to the Salmagundi Club. Loafed part of the day. Took luncheon there, and got on top of a bus
and rode up to the Museum of Art and enjoyed the afternoon with the pictures. Brother Frank was with us at Pitt’s and we
again enjoyed the day.”
Moses belonged to many fine art societies and artistic groups during his
life, including Chicago’s Palette & Chisel Club and the Laguna Beach Art
Association. He joined the Salmagundi Club in 1904.
In 1903, Moses was living in Mount
Vernon, New York, and running a successful scenic studio – Moses &
Hamilton. He was also taking art lessons from R. M. Shurtleff, a well-known
artist and member of the Salmagundi Club. Shurtleff sponsored Moses for
membership in 1904. Unfortunately that
was the same year that Moses returned to Chicago, accepting the role as
vice-president at Sosman & Landis.
In 1917, the same year that Moses
took lunch at the Club, the group acquired their new headquarters from William
G. Park. They purchased t old Irad Hawley mansion at 47 Fifth Avenue, built in
1852-1853.
Many of
Moses friends and fellow scenic artists were members of the Salmagundi Club,
including Ernest Albert and Harry A. Vincent. In 1932, Moses recalled
his studies with Shurtleff writing, “My love for the deep forests led me to the
studio of R. M. Shurtleff in New York, whom I considered a wonderful painter of
the woods. I was very happy when he consented to take me on as a pupil. When he
suggested my joining the famous Salmagundi Club I was doubtful if I could make
it. As the picture I gave the club for my initiation fee was sold to one of the
club members, this alone placed me in a good position and had I remained in New
York instead of coming to Chicago I feel that I would have forged ahead in the
higher art, and would have succeeded.” On January 6, 1915, newspapers reported
that the artist Shurtleff fell dead of heart disease in front of 860 Ninth
Avenue while on an errand for his wife (“The Sun,” 7 Jan. 1915, page 13). He
was only 78 years old.
The Salmagundi Club still exists and has an online presence
(http://www.salmagundi.org/). Its
current website states, “Founded in 1871, the Salmagundi Club is one of the
oldest art organizations in the United States. Housed in an historic brownstone
mansion in Greenwich Village, New York City, the Club offers programs including
art classes, exhibitions, painting demonstrations, and art auctions throughout
the year for members and the general public. The Salmagundi facilities include
three galleries, a library, an elegant period parlor, and a restaurant and bar
with vintage pool tables. All facilities are available for special events and
private rentals. The Club owns a collection of over 1,500
works of art spanning its 140 year history and has a membership of nearly 850
artists and patrons. Its members have included important American artists such
as Thomas Moran, William Merritt Chase, Louis Comfort Tiffany, N.C. Wyeth and
Childe Hassam. Today the Club builds on this legacy by providing a center for
the resurgence of representational art in America. The
Salmagundi Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.”
The Club’s history page also includes an excerpt from Alexander
W. Katlan’s book, “The Salmagundi Club Painting Exhibition Records 1889 to
1939: A Guide to the American Exhibition of Oil Paintings and the Annual
Exhibition and Auction Sale of Pictures.” Here is the link: http://www.salmagundi.org/SalmagundiClubHistory.pdf
“Originally formed as the Salmagundi Sketch Club in 1871,
the Club adopted its present name a hundred years ago after Washington Irving
published his potpourri of wit and wisdom called “The Salmagundi
Papers”. The name also serves as the club dining room’s famous
“Salmagundi Stew”.
The Club fosters an atmosphere of conviviality that
encourages discussions on art and other topics and leads to lasting friendships
among both artists members and patrons. While members are mainly residents of
the Tri-State area, Salmagundian’s are to be found throughout the Unites States
and Canada, as well as such faraway places as London, Amsterdam and Lisbon. Through
the years the Club has been the singular gathering place for such great artists
as Childe Hassam, William Merrit Chase, Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Louis Comfort
Tiffany, Ogden Pleisner and many others. Honorary members have included such
luminaries as Sir Winston Churchill, Buckminister Fuller, Paul Cadmus, Al
Hirschfeld, Thomas Hoving and Schuyler Chapin.”
In 1917, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I went to Fox Lake on
Decoration Day, official opening. I had
a new cot sent up and it was certainly an improvement over the old one. I actually rest now and enjoy going up.”
Decoration Day honored the deceased, with soldiers decorating the graves of their fallen comrades; flowers, flags and wreaths ornamented headstones. The day became known as Memorial Day. This also became the official opener for summer, marking travel to summer homes, cabins and resorts.
The Palette & Chisel Club’s summer home was on Fox Lake.
Only 55 miles northwest of Chicago, the picturesque area provided artists with
a retreat to escape the summer heat in Chicago.
The day set apart for commemorating the deeds of the nation’s
honored dead loses none of its patriotic significance as the years come and go.
While it is becoming less of a day of mourning than in the years when the grief
over the losses of the civil war was still fresh, its patriotic scope is
widening. Another war has also intervened and left its quota of new graves to
be decorated reverently with flowers and hags. Far off, in the Philippines
there are rows of mounds that will be draped today with the Stars and Stripes
and the day will be observed in Cuba and Porto Rico. By strewing upon the water
it is proposed the part played by the navy in fighting the battles of the
nation. There is an added impressiveness in the thought that the Memorial day
exercises are being observed simultaneously not only from one side of the
continent to the other, but also in islands of the sea on opposite sides of the
globe.
Chicago has always paid especial attention to Memorial day,
and today the usual impressive parade will be seen, with the civil war veterans
and their time-honored flags in the place of honor at the van. There is
inspiration as well as sadness in the sight of this dwindling band of old
soldiers in each city and town as they go forth each year to decorate the
graves of the comrades who fell in battle so many years ago. But as their ranks
grow thinner there are stronger escorts of the younger generation to take up
the old banners and defend the things for which the others fought.
One of the most valuable features of the Memorial day
exercises is the part connected with the public schools. Patriotic Speeches,
tableaux, and the singing of national anthems in all the Chicago schools
yesterday ushered in the present holiday. The impulses of patriotism stirred in
eager young minds by these exercises are worth more for securing the future
safety and perpetuity of the union than a great standing army. When it is
remembered that the same spirit of devotion to the flag now animates the South
as well as the North, there is every reason to look forward with high hope and
confidence to the great future before the nation. While Memorial day is a time
for a backward glance it is also a day for a hopeful and confident outlook upon
the future.”
In 1915, Thomas G. Moses wrote,
“April 17th a crowd of us went to Fox Lake and took down the old
house and moved it to our new site south of the track on a very high hill,
overlooking Pistakee Bay. Got the
carpenter and lumberyard men together and we arranged for credit and ordered
the material for a new house 22 x 50, was soon ready for members. We certainly got great sport in assisting the
carpenter. Pretty hard work for an
artist, but they all did very well.”
The Palette & Chisel Club camp on Fox Lake, pictured in the “Chicago Tribune,” 5 June 1921, page 79.
Fox Lake was the summer home for Palette & Chisel Club
members, drawing a variety of artists during the hot months. An artistic community was formed along the
shores of Fox Lake, providing a haven far away from the hustle and bustle of
work in Chicago. There were many Sosman & Landis employees who also became
members of the Palette & Chisel Club, escaping to Fox Lake whenever they
could.
An illustration of the same Palette and Chisel Club house on Fox Lake. This clipping was pasted in the scrapbook of Thomas G. Moses.
In 1906 Moses joined the Palette and Chisel Club at the
Chicago Society of Artists. Of his
membership, he wrote, “I don’t know why, as I had so little time to give to
pictures, but I live in hopes of doing something some day, that is what I have
lived on for years, Hope, and how little we realize from our dreams of
hope. As the years roll by, I think
one’s whole life is one continuous dream, unless we are wonderfully gifted and
fame drops on us while we sleep.” The year that Moses joined the group, the
Palette and Chisel Club consisted of sixty local painters, illustrators, and
sculptors. The Chicago Tribune commented that the group was “primarily a
working club, being the oldest organization in the west” (Chicago Tribune, 6
Jan. 1906, page 2).
Founded in 1895, the Palette & Chisel Club was an
association of artists and craftsmen for the purpose of both work and study. Members
were reported to be “all wage-workers” who were “busy during the week with
pencil, brush or chisel” (“Inland Printer,” 1896). On Sunday mornings they
gathered, spending five hours to paint just for themselves.
By 1905 the members of the Palette and Chisel Club
established a seasonal camp at Fox Lake, Illinois. At first it was quite rustic
with a communal tent. Of the camping experience at Fox Lake Moses wrote, “June
1st, I made my first trip to the Palette and Chisel Club camp at Fox
Lake, Ill. Helped to put up the
tent. A new experience for me, but I
enjoyed it. I slept well on a cot. Made a few sketches. A very interesting place. I don’t like the cooking in the tent and
there should be a floor in the tent. I
saw a great many improvements that could be made in the outfit and I started
something very soon.”
In 1908, Moses wrote, “I bought the portable house that we
built years ago and at that time we received $300.00 for it. I finally got it for $50.00, some
bargain. It cost $25.00 to remove it and
we will put it up at Fox Lake in the Spring.
It has been used in Forest Park all summer to show ‘The Day in the
Alps.’ Moses was 52 years old that year. The next summer Moses added, “As we
had put up the portable house in Fox Lake, I was better contented to go
up. I gave the camp a portable kitchen
and it was some class. I felt sure I
would manage to get a camp outfit worth while and the boys all fell in line
with me.”
Painting of Fox Lake by Thomas G. Moses, 1909.Back of painting by Thomas G. Moses.
It was this portable house that Moses mentioned moving
during the summer of 1915.
In his scrapbook, Moses pasted a small clipping about the
Palette & Chisel Clubhouse – “Coals To Newcastle.” Here it is:
“One of our neophytes recently called at the S & L
scenic studios on business which had to be taken up with a gentleman of such
genial and artistic manner as to make him obviously desirable for a club
member. So the neophyte, fired with the traditional ardor of the new broom,
strongly urged the S & L man to put in an application for membership.
‘I, a member of the Palette and Chisel Club!’ was the
rejoinder of the astonished prospect, ‘why I own the club.’
His name turned out to be Tom Moses.”
The article is likely published in the Palette & Chisel
newsletter and the use of “S & L man” says a lot. Over the years, there were many Sosman &
Landis men who joined the Palette and Chisel Club. I even discovered a map to
Fox Lake on the back of a 1909 drop delivered to Winona, Minnesota. S & L
men were friends both in an out of the shop, always sharing their love of art
and nature.
A map depicting Fox Lake drawn on the back of a scene delivered to Winona, Minnesota, in 1909.
In 1914, Thomas G. Moses wrote,
“Early in April a number of Palette and Chisel Club boys, including myself,
went to Fox Lake to look for a new site.
We didn’t find anything worthwhile, so we will remain where we are for
another season… I am not very regular at Fox Lake this year and I miss
sketching. I also miss my rocks and
running brooks. I have to go some
distance for that kind of a motive… Miss Maude Oliver, Art Critic of the
Herald, wanted to see the animals fed and housed, so she went to Fox Lake to
the camp. She requested that we all act
perfectly natural and not put on any frills and do nothing out of the ordinary
to entertain her. I never saw a bunch
act worse. It was awful. I think she got plenty of local color and
artistic atmosphere for her article in the Sunday Herald the next week –
convinced me that she had drunk a glass full of camp life.”
The Palette & Chisel club
made the news on multiple fronts during 1914. In January, John B. Woodruff was
elected the Club’s new president (Inter Ocean, 9 Jan. 1914, page 3). In March, Club
members and Sosman & Landis artist, Victor Higgins, received the gold medal
in the annual exhibit. Higgins had recently returned from studying abroad in
Paris (Chicago Tribune, 27 March 914, page 10). In July, the son of a past Club
president, poster artist Walter Colonel Foerster, eloped with well-known
heiress Marietta Hawthorne (Oakland Tribune, 3 July 1914, page 5). Club members
were active and in the news across the country.
Of the art critic at Fox Lake, Moses
was referring to Maude Isabella G. Oliver. Oliver was an artist, art critic and
author. Born on May 10, 1872, in Rock Island, Illinois, she was the daughter of
commercial salesman Garrett H. Oliver and teacher Katie A. Spear. The couple
was married a few months after Maude’s birth, tying the knot on August 8, 1872.
The newly married couple and their new born lived with their extended family in
the beginning. But the marriage did not last and the couple soon divorced, with
Garrett remarrying and starting a second family. Until the age of 9 years old,
Maude enjoyed the comfort of mother’s family in Davenport, Iowa. Mother and
daughter moved to Chicago where the two would continue to live together until
her mother’s passing in 1922.
Oliver worked as an art critic
for the “Chicago Herald” and as an editor of the “Bulletin of the Art Institute
of Chicago.” She resigned from the Art
Institute’s publication in 1918 to enter war work and later became a correspondent
for the “Studio,” of London. She was also a member of the Illinois Women’s
Press Association, even becoming the treasurer of the organization.
1920 publication by art critic and artist, Maude I. G. Oliver.
Maude I. G. Oliver was one of two illustrators for the 1936 book, “Which Am I?”Maude I. G. Oliver was one of two illustrators for the 1936 book, “Which Am I?”Art critic and artist, Maude I. G. Oliver was one of two illustrators for the 1936 book, “Which Am I?” Oliver was well known for her portraiture of children’s silhouettes.Art critic and artist, Maude I. G. Oliver was one of two illustrators for the 1936 book, “Which Am I?” Oliver was well known for her portraiture of children’s silhouettes.Art critic and artist, Maude I. G. Oliver was one of two illustrators for the 1936 book, “Which Am I?” Oliver was well known for her portraiture of children’s silhouettes.
Oliver remained single her entire
life, passing away in a nursing home on February 17, 1958. She was survived
only by two cousins Thilo G. Knappe of Davenport and Mrs. Eunice Eddy Rickman
of Homewood, Illinois (Quad City Times, 19 Feb. 1958, page 5).
For the past few weeks, I have been posting some of the scenic art designs by John Z. Wood; designs that he completed for the Twin City Scenic Co of Minneapolis, MN. Here is the fascinating tale of this primarily unknown artist. His artistic gifts were extraordinary and his life has been all but forgotten.
Designs by John Z. Wood in the Twin City Scenic Co. Collection, Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota. These designs are available online at https:// umedia.lib.umn.edu/ search?facet_field=collecti on_name_s&facets%5Bcollect ion_name_s%5D%5B0%5D=Sceni c+CollectionsDetail fo design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.Design by John Z. Wood for the Twin City Scenic Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
John Z. Wood was born in England and moved to London,
Ontario as a small child. His family moved again when he was eleven years old,
taking up permanent residence in Rochester, New York. Wood enlisted in the 1st
Battalion of the New York National Guards, Light Artillery, on August 2, 1864
and served until his discharged on Nov. 22 of that same year. Returning to Rochester
after the Civil War, Wood initially worked as a decorative painter at Lang’s
Children Carriage Factory and then as a sign painter for Frank Van Doorn.
In the late 1860s, Wood joined a local art club called
the Goose Grease Club, attending informal gatherings at the studio of William
Lockhart in Rochester’s Palmer building. By the 1870s, Wood had opened his own
private studio at the Baker building, sharing the space with Lockhart. Seth C.
Jones later joined their studio. During this same time he also worked for the
Mensin, Rahn, and Stecher Lithographic Co., later known as Stecher Lithographic
Co. , known for its beautiful fruit crate labels and nurserymen crates. After
becoming a fairly well- ecognized artist, Wood worked as an instructor for the
Mechanics Institute in Rochester.
By 1872, Wood helped found the Rochester Sketch Club along
with James Hogarth Dennis (1839-1914), J. Guernsey Mitchell (1854-1921), James
Somerville (1849-1905), Harvey Ellis (1852-1904), and William Lockhart
(1846-1881). Wood, however, was the instigator, organizer and promoter of the
group. Within five years, club became the Rochester Art Club. In 1874, the
Rochester Academy of Art, also emerged as an offshoot of the Rochester Sketch
Club. The Rochester Art Club incorporated in 1882, with Wood not only serving
as Treasurer (1877-1882), but also Vice President (1889-1891) and President
(1894). In 1883, a newspaper review described Wood’s contribution to the
Rochester Art Club. Of his oil painting depicting two boys fishing, the review
commented, “It gives him opportunity to apply his knowledge of anatomical
drawing and his skill in producing excellent color effects. It is one of Mr.
Wood’s best productions” (Democrat and Chronicle, 20 May 1883, page 4).
For the Club’s educational oferings, a room was secured
at the Rochester Savings Bank Building. This became their headquarters with a
small faculty consisting of Horatio Walker (water color), James H. Dennis
(oil), John Z. Wood (drawing), Harvey Ellis (composition), and Ida C. Taylor
(painting). By 1890, the Rochester City
Directory listed Wood as a designer.
However, in 1892 the Directory listed John Z. Wood as
“removed to Chicago, Ill.” That year, Wood traveled to the Chicago World Fair
with fellow artist James Somerville. Life was on the up and up, and it was around
this time that Wood became a member of New York’s Salmagundi Club, the same
fine art group that Thomas G. Moses joined in 1904. Their paths possibly
crossed during the turn-of-the-century in either Chicago or New York.
The first mention of John Z. Wood as a scenic artist,
however, is in 1889. That year, he and
Dennis Flood painted scenery for the H. R. Jacobs Opera House in Syracuse, New
York. It was quite a lucrative contract and Flood would later be noted as
Wood’s “life-time friend.” Newspaper articles noted that the pair painted not
only a 25’ x 28’ drop curtain, but also the stock scenery. The drop curtain
depicted an elaborate conservatory with a tropical garden view in the distance.
Spending several weeks on site, they painted remaining stock sets that included
a palace exterior, a fancy interior, a dark wood exterior, a classical garden,
a rocky pass, a mountain landscape, a pastoral landscape, and a lakeside
exterior. He dabbled in the theater while continuing to work as a fine artist,
designer and art instructor, saving up what money he could.
Despite his success in fine art and some early theatre
designs, Wood’s career hit a major obstacle in 1896 that resulted in a
substantial financial loss. Wood
had a financially devastating incident that involved his stepson Howard C.
Tuttle, one that ended in family betrayal and subsequent financial ruin.
Wood had known his stepson since he was born on Nov. 12, 1874. In 1875, Wood
lived with the Tuttles; boarding with Charles, Nellie (Evalyn) and their newborn
son Howard. It was short lived as Charles left Nellie, married his mistress
Rosalie Graves and celebrated the birth of his second child Lillian that same
year. Nellie and Howard C. moved in with her parents, Horace C. and Esther
Rose; her father was a painter. Interestingly, Wood was now a boarder at the
Rose home. Wood eventually married Nellie by 1886 and helped raise her son.
On July 30, 1896, Rochester’s “Democrat and Chronicle”
reported, “Bad Predicament of a Young Man.
Horace C. Tuttle Spent the Money of His Parents. His Arrest Followed. The Man Represented to Them That He Wanted
the Money to Engage in Business in New York – Taken on a Minor Charge” (page
9). Tuttle was arrested at Batavia on a charge of skipping a board bill and
that’s when the truth came out about his financial antics. The article reported that “Young Tuttle’s”
home was at No. 17 Chestnut Street with his stepfather, John Z. Wood, who is an
artist with a studio in the Reynold’s Arcade.”
In short, Tuttle became dissatisfied with “his small salary and the hard
work he had to do” at Miler’s Piano Store and made up his mind to do business
on a larger scale. He unfolded to his
stepfather and his mother the outlines of a plan that he said would make him
speedily rich, telling his parents that he had been engaged as a traveling
salesman with Newby & Evans, piano dealers in New York city, and that it
would take some money to get started.
The cash was forthcoming and the young man departed for New York in high
glee. He soon pretended to be a member of the firm, getting his foster parent
to furnish even more money. You can
already see how this ends; the son doesn’t visit home, the parents get worried
and contact his supposed employer, only to learn that their son doesn’t work
there at all. In the end, the Tuttles lost $4,000, today’s equivalent $110,000.00
today.
This event was like let the instigator that prompted Wood to
seek employment at theaters. At that time, being a scenic artist was a very
lucrative profession, if one was good and fast. The substantial amount that one
could make producing a variety of painted scenes was indicated in the business records
of Thomas G. Moses. A good scenic artist was making today’s equivalent of
175,000-200,000 dollars a year.
In 1898, Wood
was actively working as a scenic artist and painting scenery alongside Gates
& Morange at the New Baker Theatre in New York City. He produced all of the
exterior scenery for the venue, while Gates & Morange completed the
borders, trips, and other specialty drops. Wood soon became an itinerant scenic
artist and followed the work as theatres continued to spring up in the western
United States and Canada. In 1901, the Rochester City Directory listed Wood as
a “scenic painter.” By 1906, he also helped organize an association of
Rochester painters known as the Picture Painters’ Club (Democrat and Chronicle,
15 Feb. 1901, page 8). The club was designed solely for working artists,
similar to Chicago’s Palette and Chisel Club.
Wood began
traveling throughout the country and working as a scenic artist for various
theaters. He travels brought him to Winnipeg, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles.
However, by 1907, Wood
left Rochester, although the city directory continued to list him as a scenic
artist there. For the 1908-1909 season, Wood was listed as the staff scenic
artist at the Winnipeg Theatre. Winnipeg
was the northern terminus of the railway and provided an excellent opportunity for
Wood to work. It also connected him to the Twin Cities in Minnesota. After
painting for the Winnipeg Theatre, Wood journey to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and
painted scenery for a variety of venues. Another Rochester Art Club founder,
Harvey Ellis, had settled in the St. Paul, Minnesota, during 1886, working
throughout the region for seven years before returning to Rochester. Some of Ellis’ designs include the Mabel
Tainter Memorial Building in Menomonie, Wisconsin, and Pillsbury Hall, at the
University of Minnesota campus in Minneapolis (East Bank).
It was in Minneapolis that Wood worked for the Twin City
Scenic Company. Several of Wood’s designs for drop curtains are currently part
of the Twin City Scenic Co. Collection, Performing Arts Archives at the
University of Minnesota Libraries. The backs of some designs include the name Robert J. Mork, a salesman for the
Twin City Scenic Co. A few of Wood’s paintings also have competitive scenic studio
stamps and markings on the backs, such as the Great Western Stage Equipment Co.
By 1911, Wood was again living in the Rochester, with the
Directory listing him as a “scene painter.”
In 1917 he was “recognized as a scenic painter for the
Masonic Temple and other theaters in the city” (Rochester Art Club history
records). His work was for the new 1917 Masonic Temple building that included a
theatre on the third floor.
Only two years after his return to Rochester, Wood was
reported as suffering from “cardio vascular renal” at the Sellwood
hospital in Portland, Oregon, as reported by the “Oregon Daily
Journal.” However, this would not be a contributing factor to his death
two years later. In 1919, Wood’s name would appear in the newspaper one final
time when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident. On November 13, 1919,
George C. Newel caused the death of John Z. Wood, residing at No. 144 South
Ave. Wood was hit by Newell’s automobile when crossing the street. The court
ruled against Newell as he was driving too fast and unable to stop in time.
Wood was only 72 years old.
The Rochester Art Club records that Wood was “known for
his sense of humor, ability at mimicry, and telling a good story.”
Every once
in a while I am compelled to include a side story because it is so touching. These posts are often simple memorials to those
who came before me and should not be forgotten. In 1907, Thomas G. Moses wrote
about Otto Armbrusters death by suicide (see past post 573). He wrote, “August
16th, heard of Otto Armbruster’s death by suicide. It was an awful shock as we were such close
friends. The German way of getting out
of trouble, but he had no trouble, plenty of money and a good business. No one seems to know just what the cause of
the rash act was.”
In 1913, another colleague of Moses’ committed suicide in
Chicago when his eyesight failed.
This one
broke my heart as I first read it. It concerns one of the founders, and the
first president, of the Palette & Chisel Club in Chicago. His death notice
posted in the July 1913 issue of the Club’s newsletter recalled, “Fiery and at
the same time gentle in disposition, Carl Mauch was invincible in his adherence
to what he felt was right. In his death, the Club loses a father, and the world
gives up a true artist, a brave soldier and an upright man.” A successful
commercial artist in his own right, Mauch was always searching for a divine
fire that would transcend his art to another level.
Here is the
obituary notice concerning Mauch’s death:
On June 20,
1913, “Washington Post” reported:
“LOSES
SIGHT AND KILLS SELF.
Artist Had
Just Conceived What He Thought Would Be His Masterpiece.
Special to
the Washington post.
Chicago,
June 19.- His life a parallel in many respects of that of Kipling’s her in ‘The
Light That Failed,’ Carl Mauch, an artist, 63 years old, committed suicide by
swallowing poison today. Mr. Mauch’s sight began to fail just after he
conceived a work which he believed would be the greatest of his life.
‘There is
nothing left for me,’ Mr. Mauch said, a few days ago, to a fellow member of the
Palette and Chisel Club. ‘The inspiration of my life has come and my eyes are
all but gone. Never again shall I put a brush to canvas.’”
To put the
Kipling book in context, his “the Light that Failed,” follows the life
of artist Dick Heldar. He who goes blind, and struggles with his unrequited
love for fellow orphan and childhood playmate, Maisie. Heldar’s journey to
despair and helplessness is due to the loss of his ability to work, resulting
in his abandonment by Maisie. In the end, his loneliness is summed up in the
statement,”…it is better to remain alone and suffer only the misery of
being alone, so long as it is possible to find distraction in daily work. When
that resource goes the man is to be pitied and left alone.” Mauch ended his
life when he could no longer work and sought eternal solitude.
Other
newspaper articles reported Mauch’s suicide:
“Despondent
Artist Takes his Own Life.
Chicago,
June 19 – Despondent because his eyes failed him just when he conceived after
years of dreaming the picture he hoped would make him famous, Carl Mauch, an
artist, took poison and died from its effects yesterday. He was 68 years old
and rapidly losing his sight.
Recently
Mauch told a fellow member of the Palette and Chisel Club that the inspiration
of his life had come to him and he bemoaned the fact his eyes were failing him
and that he never again would touch a brush to canvas.” There is some
controversy in newspaper accounts concerning the age of the artist, yet his
tombstone lists Mauch’s birthdate as 1854, not 1850 or 1844. Most records list
Mauch as 58 at the time of his death. The article continues, “Mauch was born in
Wurttemberg, Germany, and his club fellows tell a story of how, when a boy, he
whipped the future king of that province. According to them it was the rule at
the school, which Mauch attended that the prince should always be the winner of
any game. When he saw his friends contriving that the prince should be the
victor he flew into a rage and attacked the young majesty.”
Mauch died at his home on 2651 Mildred Avenue, poisoning himself
with cyanide of potassium, and leaving behind a wife and two grown daughters, Fanny,
Melanea and Ella.
Mauch was born on Jan. 7, 1854 in Stuttgart, Stadkreis
Stuttgart, Baden-Württenberg, Germany. He studied at the Stuttgart Academy with
Karl Theodor von Piloty, Heinrich Franz Gaudenz von Rustige and Karl Albert
Buehr. Art history books note that his early artistic studies were interrupted
he was conscripted in the German army during the Franco-Prussian War. At the
time he was just sixteen years old. Following his military service, Mauch
returned to painting and continued his studies in Munich and Paris, before emigrating
in 1870. He soon married in 1872. He and his wife Fanny witnessed the birth of
four children, two who survived to adulthood.
In 1893, Mauch was listed as one of 302 artists in “The
Years Art as Recorded in The Quarterly Illustrator” (Published by Harry C.
Jones, 92, 94, and 96th Fifth Avenue, New York). The publication
listed, “Carl Mauch is one of the successful foreign artists who have made the
United States their permanent home. Mr. Mauch has lived here ever since the
Franco Prussian War.”
At the time
of his passing, Mauch was well-known as a Chicago illustrator, Impressionist
painter, and member of the Palette & Chisel Club. Mauch is buried at
Graceland cemetery on June 20, 1913.
From “The Year’s Art,” in “The Quarterly Illustrator,” Vol. 1, page 283
A decade
before his passing, “The Inland Printer” included a photograph of Carl Mauch in
an article about the Palette & Chisel Club (June 1896, page 315).. It seems
appropriate to add to today’s post as a positive remembrance to Mauch’s life. Here
is the article in its entirety:
“THE
PALETTE AND CHISEL CLUB.
An
association of artists and craftsman for the purpose of work and study – such
is the Palette and Chisel Clun of Chicago, some of the members of which have
appear in the half-tone upon the opposite page, engraved from a photograph by
Carl Mauch [image missing]. The organization is unique in that its members are
all wage-workers and busy during the week with pencil, brush or chisel doing
work to please other people. But on Sunday mornings, at 9 o’clock, they
assemble in the studio of Lorado Taft, in the Atheneum building, and for five
hours each amuses himself by working in his chosen medium, to suit himself.
From the “Inland Printer,” June 1896, page 315
The article continues, “Sunday morning means a good deal to one who has worked all week, and thought of these young men placing their easels and arranging their palettes at an hour when the rest of the city is in bed or on bicycles, is sufficient proof of their earnestness. A peep into the studio would show the men all work using all kinds of mediums, oil and water color, wash, pen and ink, charcoal, clay and modeling wax, and each busy as a boy with a jackknife. And the conversation while the model rests deals not so much with “impressionism” and “realism,” or the tendency and mode of artistic revelation as wit the best methods of drawing for reproduction of the discussion of technicalities in the sculptor’s or decorator’s arts.
The work of
the club has so far been more for study than exhibition, but there can me no
doubt that such a movement among men actually engaged in illustration and
decoration and kindred arts appealing directly to the people must result in
improving the standard of their work. The impression that a “real artist” is
incapable of doing “for the trade” is less erroneous that the idea that an
artist earning his living by practical application of his talents may not be
the artist worthy of his name. The painter may lack the technical training
necessary to the successful illustrator, but an experience in designing or
illustration often develops qualities in a man who is prevented from attempting
the higher branches of art by lack of time or opportunity, which when his chance
comes, gives him an advantage over the mere painter.
Two-thirds
of the members are students in the “life class” at the Art Institute night
school, and a desire for opportunity to study from the model in daylight, so
that color might be used, led to the organization of the club. The time at
their disposal is too short to spend bothering with officers or by-laws, so the
only formality is the payment of monthly dues to the treasurer, Curtis Gandy
who settles the rent and pays the models. The following is a list of the club’s
membership: Charles J. Mulligan, David Hunter and W. J. Hutchinson, sculptors;
Ray Brown, chief of the “Times-Herald” art department, and F. Holme, of the
“Evening Post;” Henry Hutt, illustrator and designer for J. Manz & Co.’
Carl Mauch of the Werner Company’s art staff; Will Carquerville, poster
designer and lithographer; Curtis Gandy, Capel Rowley, Richard Boehm and Edward
Loewenhelm, designers and illustrators; L. Pearson, F. J. Thwing and H. L.
Bredtschneider, fresco painters and decorators; Fred Mulhaupt, display
advertiser; Ansel Cook, scenic artist; A. Sterba and W. H. Irvine, portrait
artists; Arthur Carr, H. Wagner, L. M. Coakley and J. S. Shippen, art students.
Fred Larseon is a “proofer,” and the printer’s trade is represented by W. A.
Randall.
The
treasurer’s report shows a comfortable balance of cash in hand, and, while the
Sunday meetings will soon be temporarily discontinued on account of the hot
weather, the dues will run on just the same, so that when the club assembles in
the fall it will be with every promise of a good and successful career.”
The
statement “Sunday meetings will soon be temporarily discontinued on account of
the hot weather” explains why the club purchased a summer home on Fox Lake in
1906, as it gave artists a cooler place to continue their studies.
In 1913 Moses wrote, “The
Palette and Chisel Club boys wanted me to give an exhibit at the club. I always refused, claiming that I am not in
the picture game, and paint pictures for pleasure only. September 3rd, a committee came to
the house and insisted on going to the studio, I had over three hundred
pictures in the studio; some very good but the other 275 were not as good, but
the boys seemed to think I had at least 250 good ones, which was quite
flattering… November 3rd, I got all my framed pictures; oil, watercolor,
pen and ink and lead pencil. While we
were hanging the show, Father McCann dropped in a bought one canvas for $200.00
and another for $100.00, starting the sale in good shape.
Thomas G. Moses in his Oak Park studio, located on the attic level of his home.
An announcement in the “Oak Park Leaves” on Nov. 8, 1913, appeared under the heading, “Palette and Chisel Club Exhibits Sixty Paintings of Oak Park Man.” The article reported, “There is an exhibition of pictures by Thomas G. Moses, of 233 Euclid South, now on view at the Palette and Chisel club, 59 East Van Buren Street, Chicago. The opening-reception, which inaugurated the exhibition, was held Wednesday evening and the pictures may be seen until November 22. On weekdays the exhibition will be open from 10 to 7 o’clock, and on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evenings until 9 o’clock.” The article cited an excerpt from “The Cow Bell,” the Palette and Chisel club newsletter: “November 4 should is a great day for the club, as it does the Tom Moses exhibition. Uncle Tom, as he always will be to the camp contingent, has to be rooted out of his Oak Park residence like a poor retired badger, before Mac-Combs could get at the spoils. Tom has shied consistently at one-man shows and Mr. Moses had to put on blinders before Mac hitched him up for November 4. Mac says the painting Tom has done while jogging around these United Railways of America passes belief and also promises some rare treats to those who know him only as a painter of scenery to the crowned heads of Thespia.”
Painting by Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934).Painting by Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934).Painting by Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934).
The formal exhibition announcement stated, ‘There is not one
of our members of whom we are more proud. There is probably not another painter
in Chicago who has sought out and painted so many of the beauty spots of our
own country. From a thousand sketches and paintings sixty have been selected, and
are hung in our club to give our members and their friends an opportunity of
seeing a representative collection of the works of Thomas G. Moses” (page 5).
Painting by Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934).Painting by Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934).
Of the fall art exhibition,
Moses wrote, “I sold 20 pictures; some very cheap to artist members. The whole sale netted only $675.00 which was
not so bad for a scene painter.” Keep in
mind that $675.00 in 1913 is approximately $17,546.32 today.
Moses’ continued, “A great many
of the members didn’t expect to see so many or as good pictures as I had the
pleasure of showing there. The amount of
the sale went far ahead of what I thought it would. It was pretty good for me, and up to this
date it was the most ever sold at the one show.
I had 77 pictures on the walls, oil, water, temper, pen and ink, and
pencil. Maine to California. That made it quite interesting. I received some very flattering newspaper
notices. Mama and Rupert were
responsible for the show, as I would have never gotten it up myself. We opened with a reception, which was well
attended.” Rupert was Moses’ youngest son, and the one who would follow him in
theatre work.
A few months later, Moses was mentioned again in the “Oak
Park Leaves.” An article reported, “Mr.
Moses presented this—a delightful little September landscape, painted in the
neighborhood of Fox Lake, to the parochial guild, and the men folk at once
showed their appreciation of his compliment by clubbing together and purchasing
it for the new rector, Rev. F. R. Godolphin. A very handsome sum will be
realized by the organization” (Saturday, December 06, 1913, page 38).
Painting by Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934).
To conclude 1913, Moses wrote,
“Pitt and the family were with us again this Christmas and we always enjoy them
as the years fly along, and I think at the close of each that during the next,
I will certainly make some progress in pictures and get nearer the goal for
which I have been striving for so many years.
But the everlasting grind and hustling for the mighty dollar has just
about knocked all the ambition out of me and side tracked my picture game. My show this year has given me a lot of
encouragement. I hope to make another
some day. The [Palette & Chisel] boys
want me to do one each year, but that is impossible. I should like to do a whole year’s sketching
and I know at the end I would have something.
The few weeks I get in a year don’t really mean much. I can hardly get started before I have to go. No vacation this year, and I regret it very
much, as I think we are entitled to one each year.”
Thomas G. Moses painting on the Oakland docks in California.
