Drop Curtain – Page 13 – Drypigment.net

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 179 – Thomas G. Moses and Will Davis, 1881

Moses traveled to Richmond, Indiana, during 1881. There, he and William P. Davis worked on a scenery project. Moses’ assistant, “Will” Davis, was later listed as the scenic artist for the Grand Opera House in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, by 1899. Davis was also listed that year in Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide as the scenic artist for the Metropolitan Opera House in St. Paul, Minnesota. Later, in the employ of Twin City Scenic Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he was just one of many artists to arrive in the Twin Cities seeking employment as the studio’s business dramatically increased.

“The Evening Item” noted Moses’ scenic art in Richmond, Indiana, at the newly refurbished Grand Opera House (Sept. 19, 1881, Vol. 5, No. 211), describing the refurbished venue.

Miss Marie Prescott was the opening production in the space. An 1881 newspaper article title “Among the Shows” published, “the house is really a beauty, all the old dressing rooms, partitions and scenery have been removed, and new opera chairs will be put in as soon as they are finished. The old entrances to the gallery have all been taken out, and the stage brought forward several feet. At each end of the stage is a private box, with brass posts and rails in front, and curtains of rich crimson velvet and lace. They project fully three feet, and have on each a chandelier which lights the stage.” The newly added scenery included one fancy set chamber, four wings; one set plain chamber, four wings; one kitchen, and one prison, each four wings; one wood, six wings; one landscape, one perspective street, one rocky pass, one horizon, one ocean, one garden, one grand drapery border, one set tormentor wings and doors, three drapery borders, two kitchen borders, three foliage borders, one set cottage, one set bridge, four set rocks, one tree, two set waters, one foreground, one garden wall, one balustrade, two statues. The article published that “the scenic work was completed by Sosman & Landis of Chicago with Thomas G. Moses painting the drop curtain. The newspaper article specified that is was “the finest piece in the entire work and really a work of art.” The auditorium decoration work was done by John M. Wood, of Chicago, who also represented Spoor Mackey, who was a leading theatrical decorator of the West.

Thomas G. Moses’ scenic work for a drop curtain noted in “The Evening Item,” Vol . 5, No. 211, Sept. 19, 1881 (Richmond, Indiana).

It was later known as the Bradley Opera House (located at North Eighth and A Streets), the building was later remodeled by George J. Bradley in 1896 and then noted, “one of the prettiest ground-floor theatres in Indiana” (Logansport Pharos-Tribune, 2 Sept, 1898, page 18). Sadly, the building was destroyed by fire two years later; the cause believed to be from the “electric light wires, which entered the theatre building from the rear.”

This same year that Moses and Davis worked in Richmond, a new daughter was born. Mary Titcomb Moses arrived on September 7^th, 1881. This was the second of four children for the couple. The remaining two would be Lillian Ella Moses in 1886 and Thomas Rupert Moses in 1889. Ella remained in Sterling with her Mother, who was now living in town instead of on Robbins Range. He noted that the arrival of a baby girl necessitated increasing his income. He wrote that Sosman & Landis increased his salary from $21.00 to $26.00 per week upon the arrival of his daughter. This increase was really overdue, as Moses had quickly become a valuable asset to the studio.

Moses explained the reason for the increase was his willingness to do “a great deal of extra work, all on the day rate, I never received more than straight time. I could never see why anyone ever earns any more.”

I want to take a moment to address his statement above, “I could never see why anyone ever earns anymore.” This belief would make Moses an extremely valuable employee, but not necessary a popular one, or a positive spokesman for any labor union. I previous research, Joseph Sands Sosman was curiously absent from any union records, especially during the formation and early years of any union activities. I find this interesting, as many of his contemporaries were the movers and shakers of early union activities. Moses certainly was not isolated in his work, friendships, or projects.

Moses returned to Sosman & Landis in studio for good 1904 to supervise the paint studios. This was a time when Sosman was forced to pay attention to more administrative duties after Perry Landis’ departure due to his failing health. The internal workings and attitudes of the Sosman & Landis Studio primarily originate with the memoirs of John Hanny (1890-1984) who worked at the studio from 1906-1920. It is his memoirs that describe the dynamics of the studio and will be presented after the tale of Thomas Moses.

The American Society of Scene Painters emerged in 1892 (see installment #138) and included some thirty members of the most prominent men in the profession. The objects of the society were “to promote the artistic and practical efficiency of the profession, and consolidate as a whole the dignity of the profession hitherto maintained by the individual artist.” Organized in Albany, New York, the executive staff included Richard Marston (Palmer’s Theatre), Henry E, Hoyt (Metropolitan Opera House), Homer F. Emens (Fourteenth Street Theatre), Sydney Chidley (Union Square Theatre), Harley Merry (Brooklyn Studio) Brooklyn and Ernest Albert (Albert, Grover & Burridge). Their chief grievance claimed that the stage manager was their worst enemy. They complained that scenes were set in accordance with the off-hand wishes of the managers and not with painters direct. Doing so caused many of the most artistic effects of each scene to be lost as they were not properly displayed.

This would make the appearance of a new fraternal client a dream come true. Scottish Rite theatres would not follow the standard hierarchy or the rule of the stage manager.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 149 – The Scenic Art of John Z. Wood

The first mention of John Z. Wood as a scenic artist was from 1889. That year, he and Dennis Flood were noted as the scenic artists for the H. R. Jacobs Opera House in Syracuse, New York,. Flood would later be noted as Wood’s “life-time friend.” H. R. Jacobs was the owner of numerous theaters throughout the country, including the H. R. Jacobs’ Academy in Syracuse. Newspaper articles noted that they painted not only a 25’ x 28’ drop curtain, but also the set of stock scenery for the venue. The drop curtain depicted an elaborate conservatory with a tropical garden view in the distance. Spending several weeks on site, they painted remaining stock set 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.

As I was examining other performance venues in the city where Wood might have painted, it was the drop curtain at Syracuse’s Weiting Opera House that caught my eye. I came across a photograph of the drop curtain with two men in front of it, possibly the artists in front of their work.

Weiting Opera House drop curtain in Syracuse, New York, possibly painted by John Z. Wood and Dennis Flood.

Design for drop curtain by John Z. Wood in Twin City Scenic Co. collection (PA43), Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries.

The composition and paint application is characteristic of many Wood designs contained in the Performing Arts Archives. It is the shape of the building, the draperies, and the placement of boats and figures that I believe are characteristic of Wood’s compositions. This drop curtain would have been for the old Weiting Opera house before it was destroyed by fire.

By 1898, Wood was also painting scenery with Gates & Morange for the New Baker Theatre in New York City. He produced all of the exterior scenery for the venue, while Gates & Morange produced the borders, trips, and other specialty drops. His travel to New York occurred shortly after a financially devastating incident that will be covered in the next installment.

By 1907, Wood left Rochester and moved to several other locations, including Winnipeg, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles. For the 1908-1909 season, Wood was listed as the staff scenic artist at the Winnipeg Theatre.

1911 Photograph of scenery at the Winnipeg Theatre, possibly painted by John Z. Wood in 1909.

Previously, John C. Baatz and David M. Hartford were listed as the scenic artists for the 1906-1907 season as noted in the Souvenir Program.

John C. Baatz noted as scenic artist from 1906-1907 at Winnipeg Theatre in souvenir program.

David M. Hartford noted as scenic artist from 1906-1907 at Winnipeg Theatre in souvenir program.

Scenery by Hartford and Baatz pictured in 1906-1907 souvenir program.

Walker’s Winnipeg Theatre was over a decade old when Wood moved there in 1909. In 1897, Corliss Powers Walker and his wife Harriet, moved to Winnipeg from Fargo, North Dakota, at the suggestion of the president of the Northern Pacific Railway who understood Walker’s business ambition in the field of theatre. Harriet Walker was a musical comedy actress on the New York stage. Winnipeg was the northern terminus of the railway and provided an excellent opportunity to extend Walker’s Red River Valley Theatre Circuit, associated with the Theatre Syndicate in New York. This included several theatres he owned in North Dakota, also referred to a his “Breadbasket Circuit.” The extension of the circuit allowed Winnipeg theatregoers to enjoy the latest Broadway shows soon after they opened in New York, as well as international celebrities in operas and concerts that otherwise would never have gone beyond St. Paul. Walker promptly leased the old Bijou and renamed it the Winnipeg Theatre on September 6, 1897. He added a new raised stage and gallery to increase the seating from 500 to 800.

The Bijou was originally christened Victoria Hall when constructed in 1882. It was a brick-veneer wooden building with several stores on the ground level. In 1890, it was renamed the Bijou Opera House when Frank Campbell, a local entrepreneur, renovated the performance hall to house a stock company that he had brought to Winnipeg. The Manitoba Historical Society published an article in 2002 titled “On Stage: Theatre and Theatres in Early Winnipeg.” It noted, “Awkwardly placed pillars on each side of the stage supported an old-fashioned drop curtain that came down with a thump that shook the house at the conclusion of each act.”

Under Walker’s direction the Winnipeg Theatre inaugural program boasted that in terms of its size, stage, scenic equipment, and lighting, the theatre was superior to anything west of Chicago. The renovated theatre auditorium accommodated 1,000 persons, although the theatre still remained on the second floor. This became a point of contention with local citizens who grew increasingly concerned about audience safety during a fire. The theatre burned to the ground on December 23, 1926, taking the lives of four firemen.

The remains of the Winnipeg Theatre after the fire in 1926.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 147 – The Search for John Z. Wood

There is that certain feeling that I get when looking for something that I have misplaced. I can see it so clearly in my mind’s eye, repeatedly going back to the same spot over and over again. Eventually I locate the lost object, often in the exact same location where I knew it had to be!

I experience this same feeling while doing research, whether it be on scenic artists or Masonic scenery. There are certain places and times that I keep returning to, expecting something to finally appear. It was this same intuition that worked well for me at Fort Scott, Kansas, when we were removing the historical scenery collection for transport. It was one of the reasons why I crawled on my hands and knees through the filth digging in the crack between the wall and floor that was twenty feet above the stage. I am usually successful if I follow my instinct, whether it is research or painting. This persistent search resulted in the discovery of Thomas G. Moses’ personal artifacts. I knew that something was up there waiting to be found, so I just kept looking.

Last month, I finally tracked down a scenic artist that I have been searching for since receiving an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program grant to process the Great Western Stage Equipment Company collection for the Performing Arts archives. At this same time, I was introduced to the Twin City Scenic Company collection and the art of John Z. Wood. I immediately was under the spell of Wood’s paintings and enthralled with his designs and painting techniques. Since then, I have spent thousands of hours of my own time searching telephone directories, census documents, and fine art books to track him down. I wrote letters to historical societies and museums, made onsite visits to peruse various archives, and even traveled across the country to view fine art.

Wood’s paintings were unique and very different from all of the other scenic art designs from the other historical scenery collections. There was a greater depth to his compositions and the color palette was much richer. Wood’s paintings also incorporated an interesting finish, giving each painting a slight sheen. This suggested that he was using either a different binder, applying a final warm glaze, or sealing his final product. However, it was his foliage painting that absolutely captivated me as a nineteen-year-old artist and a technique that allowed me to identify even unsigned his art works. There was a lacey quality to the foliage painting that I had never seen in any other fine art piece – except once at a thrift store. I immediately bought that battered print because it reminded me of his work. It now hangs on a wall where it is one of the first images I see every morning.

Detail of John Z. Wood foliage painting. John Z. Wood design for a drop curtain. Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin City Scenic Company collection (PA43).

Wood’s paintings were very romantic. He painted large soft areas of warm color and then allowed individual leaves to magically emerged from these welcoming masses. For me, this was absolute magic. As artists, we always talk about developing our own individual style. I desperately wanted to develop a style like John Z. Wood.

Over the years, I kept going back to many of the same places to continue my research and was able to track down a few bits and pieces of Wood’s fine art pieces. However, his personal life or professional appointments remained shrouded in mystery. His fine art primarily hung on walls at residences along the east coast and I had to wonder what had brought him to work in the Midwest at the Twin City Scenic Company in Minneapolis. Why leave an obviously successful career in fine art for the theatre career much later in life?

John Z. Wood design for a drop curtain. Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Twin City Scenic Company collection (PA43).

In 2001, I tracked down another Wood painting at a private residence in New Jersey. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to make a side trip to see the painting while visiting close friends in the area. Melissa Semmes-Thorne and made a special trip to Chatham, New Jersey.

Mrs. Glover in front of her John Z. Wood painting in Chatham, New Jersey.

There, Mrs. Glover offered us a cold drink and explained everything she knew about the artwork and the artist – which was virtually nothing. My heart sank when she started the conversation with, “Well, I actually know very little about him.” She had no idea that Wood also designed for the theatre and my trip seemed to be a waste. Mrs. Chatham could only explain that her father purchased the painting from the actual artist, known to be a very famous painter in the region. That was really my only clue – he lived in the area – at some point. So Wood was a resident of New Jersey or New York? Based on her story, he was also still living when her father bought the painting around the turn of the century.

Since that trip, I have discovered very little additional information – until last month. The continuous scanning and uploading of historic documents have changed everything for my research. In many ways, Wood’s story paralleled that of Thomas G. Moses, just ten years earlier as he was born in 1846. He was a prolific fine artist and had connections with Minnesota artists.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 140 – Merry and the Flatbush Studio

Harley Merry secured employment at the renovated Brooklyn Atheneum after being dismissed from the Brooklyn Theatre. Merry painted settings for the venue that included four sets – a parlor, kitchen, wood and garden scene. He also painted a new drop curtain with an Italian scene. The stage carpenter from the Academy of Music (Jonathan Newman) made the alterations to the original space from 1853. One noted improvement in the August 12, 1874, issue of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (page 3) was that Mr. Newman introduced “a sliding beam, or derrick, which can be rolled in and out through the back wall of the building, near the roof, to the end of which a tackle is rigged sufficiently to hoist up from the ground a weight of several tons. This will obviate the necessity of carrying pianos, heavy baggage and other unwieldy objects up the front stairs, as has heretofore been necessary.”

The Brooklyn Atheneum where Harley Merry works after being dismissed from the Brooklyn Theater.

Merry also painted and performed for the Brooklyn Academy of Music (located at 176-194 Montague Street). He participated in a benefit of the Szegedin Fund at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in a production entitled, “Forty-Niners, or the Pioneer’s Daughter; A Tale of the Great Sierras.” Merry performed in the cast with Adelaide Roselle (Mrs. H. Merry), Josey Brittain (Merry’s daughter, Josephine), and T. W. Hanshaw (Merry’s travel companion to London in 1874). An advertisement noted, “The scenery will be entirely new, covering thirty thousand square feet of canvas, painted by Harley Merry (at his Flatbush Studio) and from sketches made by him in the Sierra Mountains.”

Harley Merry as both an actor and scenic artist for this production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

He had an extensive career painting for a variety of venues throughout New York and the eastern region. Here are a few highlights from his career during the late nineteenth century. In 1883, Merry primarily worked from his studio in Flatbush. There, he putting the finishing touches on the drop curtain that measured 27’ x 48’ for a Passion Play. The drop curtain composition was titled “Jerusalem is Holy, noted” in Hebrew characters on the frame. Gold-trimmed crimson draperies surrounded the composition. A second layer of blue draperies included a lily pattern to suggest the verse “Judah shall bloom like the lily.” The exotic composition depicted a seated priestess, sphinx, a tall censor of gold and blue marble, clouds of purplish smoke, papyrus, palm trees, and Egyptian harp, a Jewish psalter, Oriental horns, and an Egyptian scroll. Above, the angel of peace and cherubs ringing golden bells floated high above the cross. His painting was noted as a success.

In 1884 Harley Merry created the scenery for a new Romantic spectacle entitled, “The Devil’s Auction.”

In 1884 Merry created the scenery for a new Romantic spectacle entitled, “The Devil’s Auction” that was described as a “Dramatic Pantomine and Terpsichorean Artists” with the Grand English Ballet from the Alhambra, London. It Music Hall, the production for a cost of $20,000. Merry entered various partnerships over the years, including one with Henry E. Hoyt in 1888 to create scenery for the new comic opera, “The Queen’s Mate” at the Broadway Theatre.

“Getz, Merry & Reid” were credited with painting the scenery for Wm. J. Gilmore’s “The Twelve Temptations.”

The same year “Getz, Merry & Reid” was formed and were credited with painting the scenery for Wm. J. Gilmore’s “The Twelve Temptations.” This was extensively advertised as “a scenic, ballet, and pantomimic spectacle.” The settings included sixteen full stage pictures with a moving panorama that cost $35,000 to produce.

By 1892 Merry was painting with John H. Young and creating a new scenery installation for the Columbia Theatre. Merry focused on the stock sets while John H. Young primarily the front curtain. An article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle noted that the 2,000 electric lights illuminated the new stage (Feb 14, 1892, pg. 20). Merry again joined forces again with John H. Young in 1894, for James W. Harkins, Jr.’s “A Man Without a Country” at the American Theatre (New York Tribune, Sept 23, 1894, pg. 19). The creation of the scenery also involved Lafayette W. Seavey and Frank Rafter. In 1895, Harley Merry, Joseph Clare and E. P. Dodge created the settings for Springer & Welty’s revival production of “The Black Crook.”

In 1897 Harley Merry, John H. Young, Walter Burridge, Richard Marston and Homer Emens produced the scenery for Margaret Mather’s production of “Cymbeline.” An article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle (September 28, page 7) commented that the group was noted as the “foremost scene painters of their time. They are artists and not mere grabbers after striking effects by cheap and easy means, and that in this instance they have presented a picture of the first century which is well worth seeing.”

Here is a detail from “Cymbeline” with scenery produced by Harley Merry, John H. Young, Walter Burridge, Richard Marston and Homer Emens.

In his later years, Merry became a collector of pictures and a “student of art,” residing at 949 Franklin Avenue. He passed away in 1911 and a September 3 issue of the New York Times reported, “Harley Merry, a well-known scenic artist and forty years ago the well-known actor, died yesterday at his home, Avenue Z and Ryder Avenue, Brooklyn, from causes due to old age.”

Merry’s wife passed a mere three years later. Her obituary was published in “The Sacramento Union” (No. 59, February 28, 1914). It noted, “Louise M. R. Brittain, widow of E. J. Brittain, known as Adelaide Roselle to theatre goers of a generation ago, who was the first woman of English birth to take out naturalization papers here died yesterday at the home of her daughter in Flushing, aged seventy years. Mrs. Brittain was leading woman with Edwin Booth, William H. Crane and John McCullough.” Her stage name was noted as Adelle Roselle Merry in The Sun (NY, NY), June 9, 1914 page 9.

Adele Roselle is credited as one of the talented singers.

To be continued…