Category: Scottish Rite Scenery

Copyright © 2025 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Ninety-eight years ago, Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934) was finishing up the first batch of scenery for the newly constructed Scottish Rite Theatre in Oakland, California. In his memoirs, Moses records that he painted eighty-five drops on site in less than five months.  In addition to back drops, cut drops and leg drops, he also painted numerous book flats and profile pieces to accompany each scene. This post is going to focus on the timeline for his painting, as well as providing some context for his health at the time. At the age of 71 years old, he accomplished an impressive workload; one that would have challenged a man half his age.

On Oct. 6, 1927, he had just completed painting the new scenery collection for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah. On Oct. 9, 1927, Moses wrote, “Was on the road all day towards Oakland.  Arrived on time and found [Fred] Megan  had gone to Los Angeles to see [Fitch] Fulton.” Megan was Moses’ business partner. Both had purchased the Sosman & Landis name in 1924. Moses was hoping that Fulton would assist him in Oakland, as he had been unable to in Salt Lake. The two had recently painted scenery for the San Jose and Pasadena Scottish Rite Theaters.

Of his arrival in Oakland, Moses wrote, “I rented a five-room apartment next door to the New Temple.  A fine view of Lake Merritt.  Have been nicely entertained by John McEwing and Larry Abrott.”  John McEwing was the Director of Degree Work at the Oakland Scottish Rite and had been working with Moses on stage designs since the beginning of the year. Larry Abrott, of Western Scenic Studio, was scheduled to personally supervise the installation of Moses’ scenery in Oakland.

 On Oct. 12, 1927, Moses climbed up to the newly constructed paint bridge at the Oakland Scottish Rite and began painting. Two paint frames were waiting on either side, each one able to accommodate a 30’-0” x 50’-0” drop.

Of his first week in Oakland, Moses wrote, “Started my painting on October 12^th.  Of course I had to do my pet scene, the dark wood drop, which I finished quickly and proved to be quite satisfactory.”  The wood set was followed by a scene in King Solomon’s Temple. Known as the Holy of Holies, or Sanctum Sanctorum, the scene consisted of a back drop, cut drop and tri-fold backing flat.

Of the timeline, Moses wrote, “I am to do 43 drops for the reunion class on Dec. 12^th.” He would have only sixty days to complete the first portion of the project, and this was not his only project to finish that fall. In November, Moses had to return to return to Salt Lake and finish final stage preparations for the dedication ceremonies and Scottish Rite Reunion. This meant that he really had only 46 days in Oakland to paint 43 drops. He began with one assistant – local scenic artist, Lenn Harris.

When he picked up his brush in Oakland, Moses had been painting for over five decades. Now president of Sosman & Landis, he had been directly responsible for the design and painting of fifty-two other Scottish Rite scenery collections over the past thirty years. All told, he would paint scenery for 64 Scottish Rite theaters, 7 Shrine Auditoriums, 14 Commanderies, and 9 Grottos by 1931. Near the end of his career, Moses compiled an impressive list of past clients that included Sarah Bernhardt, Madame Modjeska, Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Booth, John McCullough, Katherine Clemmons, Emma Abbott, William Haworth, Julia Marlowe, Walker Whitesides, Buffalo Bill, Al Ringling, Fredrick Thompson, and many, many others. Moses was a prolific designer and scenic artist with a career that spanned from 1873-1934. Generations of artists learned the scene painting trade under his direct supervision, going on to establish their own studios across the country and abroad. Moses was a major influence in the scope of American art, theatre history, and fraternalism. However, I am going to start with his health.

In 1918, Moses was struck by a bicycle near his home. At the time he was 62 years old. Of the incident, he wrote, “October 10^th, I was knocked down by a boy on a bicycle in Oak Park.  It was dark and I did not see the wheel.  It was thought by the doctor that I had fractured my skull.  It was a couple of months before I recovered.  Only a few days after this I was forced to go to Cleveland to look after a big Masonic order and I hope we will be able to get the contract.” Moses’ work pace seldom slacked, with him rushing from one project to the next in the months following his head injury.

He never fully recovered and suffered migraine headaches for years. Initially, they believed that the migraines were caused from decaying teeth. In 1920 he wrote, “My headache still continues and there seems to be no help for it.  No one seems to know the cause, now that my teeth are all out, which everyone thought would be the remedy.” Today we know how important it is to rest in the days, weeks and months following a concussion. That was not the case when Moses was injured in 1927.

Also, his migraines may have been linked to underlying cardiovascular issues. Problems with his heart began by 1921 with symptoms plaguing him for the next four years until they they became life threatening and landed him in the hospital.  1925 was the year that Moses would divide projects into “before or after the taking.”

It was also the same year that Moses decided to become a Mason with the intent of getting in the Scottish Rite class at Pasadena that spring. On February 10, 1925, he not only completed the second degree, but also the Pasadena Scottish Rite scenery contract. It had been a long project, with refurbishing and expanding the used scenery collection from Little Rock for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.

He completed the third degree just in time to get into the Scottish Rite Class at Pasadena on the Feb. 24, 1925. Four days later, he became a 32^nd degree Scottish Rite Mason and then entered the Shrine. Of the momentous occasion he wrote, “It was like a dream to me as all my Masonic knowledge was only padded over by the ritual and some new work which was thankfully received.  So, after forty years of designing and painting these degrees, I will now go into the work with a better understanding.”

In addition to completing the Pasadena Scottish Rite project, Moses landed contracts for the San Jose Scottish Rite, Al Malaikah Shrine, and Los Angeles Consistory. Everything hit at once.

On March 25, 1925, Moses became a member of the Al Malaikah Shrine before starting the San Jose Scottish Rite project just two days later.

At the San Jose Scottish Rite, he was again assisted by scenic artist Fitch Fulton (1879-1955) and stage carpenter Harry Naile (1879-1930) who had also worked with him in Pasadena.  

He was not only working at a frantic pace but also beginning to falter. Moses’ health was deteriorating, and yet he couldn’t slow down. In addition to painting scenery in San Jose, Moses also completed two murals that he donated to the Pasadena Scottish Rite.

He worked at a frantic pace that April, writing, “I started for San Jose on March 27^th and found Naile had everything in good shape.  Fulton and I got busy immediately, got a good start and pounded away pretty steadily until April 18^th when my trouble that had been growing for the past four years came to a climax, and it was a case of life or death.”

Whether it was a sudden pain, heart palpitations, or something else, Moses was admitted to the San Jose hospital on April 18, 1927. Of the incident, he wrote, “Dr. Moore and Fulton got me to the San Jose Hospital on a Saturday night after an unsuccessful attempt to relieve me of my trouble.  It took two nurses to keep me alive. when morning came, and operation had to be performed. [My wife Ella] arrived from Los Angeles in the afternoon, several hours after the operation. I very soon recovered from the shock and while it was necessary to be kept quiet, [Ella] was with me every minute, only going to the hotel at night…I was in good condition by May 1^st, and I was taken again to the operating room for the second serious operation, which was successful, after which came the battle for strength.” Despite the two operations, Moses wrote, “All through my illness, I had to keep work going and had to ask [Ella] to see that the salaries were paid and the work at the [Scottish Rite] did not stop.” The San Jose Scottish Rite project was completed just before Moses’ second operation. He was not released from the hospital until May 30. Of his condition after returning to the hotel, Moses wrote, “I was very weak and could hardly walk.” He and Ella remained at the hotel for two more weeks, and then headed back to the home in Oak Park, Illinois. They took a few days to settle in after arriving on June 17, then Moses wrote, “I soon got back on my job and took a run down to Fort Wayne to see about getting to work, as we had a big job ahead of us.  I also made a trip to Oshkosh and one to Detroit, travelling did not seem to hurt me.” He soon resumed his busy schedule, returning to California that summer and then on to Pittsburg, KS, Little Rock, AR, El Paso, TX, and Detroit, MI.

You have two options after a health crises or critical diagnosis: play it safe or see how  much you can get accomplished in the time that you have left. It does not appear that Moses tried to play it safe. He certainly did not retire from a physically-taxing career, but he may not have been able to afford that option.

On Sept. 17, 1927, he began a painting project in Fort Wayne, TX, writing, “found everything in good shape; a good bridge and frame and a drop on the frame ready for me. I got busy the next day and did a 30’ x 75’ wood in a day and a half – quickest time I ever made, and for one who had not worked in five months, I considered it some feat.  I found that I was in good condition and capable of doing a good day’s work.” Good for him.

A year later, Moses wrote that he averaged ten drops a week in July while painting the Salt Lake Scottish Rite scenery. This was the project that he was working on just prior to the Oakland Scottish Rite. In later years, Moses referred to Oakland as his “most artistic work.”

Moses often worked with a scenic art assistant and a stage carpenter; both usually on site before Moses, constructing paint frames and setting up the studio. In Oakland, Moses was assisted by Earl Suddeth (1891-1957) and Lenn Harris (1889-1930). Like Fulton before them, they replaced his long-term assistant, Edward Loitz (1865-1940). From 1883-1923, Moses was primarily assisted by Loitz who traveled one step ahead of him, preparing the jobsite and then assisting with various tasks. Loitz even finished some projects or took on smaller contracts if extra work was needed to be done on site. Moses also entrusted Loitz with supervision of the main Chicago studio during especially busy periods or Moses’ prolonged absences.  The last public mention of Loitz and Moses working together on site is from the fall of 1923. On Oct. 17, 1923, the Press and Sun-Bulletin reported, “Mr. Moses is assisted by Edward Loitz, who has traveled from coast to coast with Mr. Moses working on many contracts.” By 1924, younger scenic artists were assisting Moses on site. During this time, Moses also heavily relied on stage carpenter Harry Naile.

Naile was repeatedly mentioned in Moses’ memoirs between 1922-1925, with his projects including the Little Rock Scottish Rite Theatre in Arkansas, Tacoma Scottish Rite Theatre in Washington, the Binghamton Scottish Rite Theatre in New York, and the Pasadena Scottish Rite Theatre and San Jose Scottish Rite Theatre in California. Naile was mentioned in Pasadena Evening Post on Feb. 14, 1925, with the article reporting, “The final work of hanging and installing the curtains will be under the supervision of Harry Naile, a member of the Sosman & Landis company. This work demands such expert workmanship that Mr. Naile was brought from Chicago so that no mistake in installation could be made.”

Naile and Fulton became responsible for Sosman & Landis’ California projects when Moses went into the hospital during the spring of 1925.  Moses later wrote, “Fulton and Naile went to Los Angeles to do the Fullerton job which was carried through without a hitch.  Walter [Moses’ brother] handled the payments in Los Angeles, and everything was done on time and highly satisfactory, and was settled for promptly.” Despite the kind words and gestures, Moses lost his core crew that spring. They may have perceived him as a ticking time bomb. Neither Naile nor Fulton were available to assist at the Oakland Scottish Rite. Despite two operations and slow recovery, Moses was again working at a frantic pace by mid-June. One could understand that those working for him wondered when his health would fail again and who would be left to complete the next project.

In Oakland, Moses contracted local artists, initially hiring Lenn Harris as his on-site assistant. The 38-yrs. old Harris was a well-seasoned artist in 1927, not an inexperienced youngster. Moses needed someone who was fast and accurate. Despite Harris’ experience, the scope of the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery necessitated a second artist when Moses left for Salt Lake City in early November 1927. This is when Moses hired a second scenic artist to help Harris during his trip to Salt Lake. Of the addition, Moses wrote, “I had to get Earl Sudderth to help Harris while I was back in Salt Lake.”

Moses was gone from Oakland for two full weeks. Of his trip, Moses wrote, “I was back in Salt Lake on the 10^th of November to get ready for the Dedication where I found plenty to do in order to get ready. Besides the touching up of the battens there was a lot of set pieces to be gone over.  We were all ready on the 18^th of November for an informal opening.  The regular opening was the 21^st when I was on stage and introduced to the crowd.  Was well pleased to hear my Cathedral setting received a big round of applause.  I have certainly had my share of honor on this job. On Wednesday November 23^rd I started back to Oakland where I arrived on the 25^th and had to jump into the harness quickly. Was obliged to do some night work in order to complete my work by December 12^th which was done.”

Moses made the front page of the Salt Lake Telegram on Nov. 24, 1927. An article entitled, “Moses Recalls Old Theatre Days,” was written by Kay Harms after an interview with Tom Moses. The newspaper clipping eventually made its way into Moses’ scrapbook.

I am including the article in its entirety as it provides a wonderful snapshot of Moses in 1927:

Sarah Bernhardt, Madame Modjeska, Edwin Booth, Lawrence Barrett, Thomas Keene, John McCullough, Julia Marlowe, Buffalo Bill – all these have gone the way of the flesh, and still Thomas G. Moses who painted the scenery for their productions, is hale and healthy and actively at work. There is scarcely a city of any consequence in America today that does not boast at least one theatre curtain painted by Tom Moses, and his landscape and still life sketches adorn the walls of some of the loveliest homes in the nation. The curtain at the Wilkes theatre was painted by him twenty-one years ago, and when he saw it last week his fingers fairly itched to get at his paint pots and refurbish the time-dimmed colors on it. He just completed painting the 150 “drops” and great curtains at the auditorium of the new Masonic temple, having spent the entire summer in Salt Lake upon the work.

LOVES HIS ART

Tom Moses is the most sought after scenic artist in America, and most of the elaborate productions have his direction if not his actual touch in their scenery. He is the president of the firm Sosman & Landis of Chicago, the leading theatrical scenery firm of the country, yet when he dons his paint-smeared overalls and takes a brush in his hand, Tom Moses becomes just a scenery painter who loves his art.

To looks at Tom Moses, one would never guess that he was born in Liverpool, England, in 1856, for he is robust and strong, with a heavy head of iron-gray hair, clear blue eyes, and straight as a ramrod. Nor does his face, with its smug, square-cut mustache, and his hands, with thick, square fingers, suggest the artist. Meeting him, one instinctively says, “Here is a successful banker, real estate agent or insurance salesman.”

To get Tom Moses, whose life has been one of interesting and romantic associations, to talk about himself is difficult, but to get Tom Moses to talk about those associations is to see his laughing eyes light up as he begins to unfold a fascinating chain of incidents and reminiscences.

RAN AWAY FROM HOME

Mr. Moses came to America with his parents when he was a mere child. His father was a sea captain who longed to see his son follow in his footsteps, but his mother had the soul of an artist and instilled in him the desire to do great creative work. Because his father insisted on his choosing the life of the sea, believing only starvation and despair faced an artist, Tom Moses ran away from home when he was 17 years old and secured his first job in Chicago as a paint boy at the munificent salary of $4 a week at the Almini studios.

The going was hard for the first few months, and as his room rent equaled his salary, he was forced to walk the miles to the studio and to earn his meals by doing errands for the men about the studio. Soon his ability with the brush became apparent and at the end of his first year he was instructed with important assignments and his check raised to $21. After a short time, he entered the Chicago Art Institute for study. His only other teacher was Roswell M. Shurtleff, with whom he studied when he was 40 years old.

“Bernhardt was a great woman, but Madame Modjeska was a lovable one,” Mr. Moses said in chatting intimately about some of the famous personalities with whom he worked in the past fifty years. When Modjeska went on tour with her repertoire of “Mary Stuart,” “Marie Antoinette” and “Macbeth,” it was with scenery by Tom Moses. “When she was rehearsing in San Diego in 1899, we were all like one big family. Often the entire company spent the week-end with her at her home in Santa Ana. She was a great woman who possessed no professional jealously, and her hospitality was as far fames as her own wonderful self. That time with her was the happiest time in my professional life.”

PRIZES TELEGRAM

When Bernhardt played the now famous one-night stand of “Judas,” the drama written by a Wisconsin newspaper man, as a favor to the author, Moses executed the scenery, and Madame Bernhardt telegraphed him her congratulations and appreciation. That telegram is one of the prized possessions of Tom Moses.

“Since I made the sets for the original “Floradora” production and all of the four companies on tour, I knew all of the famous ‘Floradora sextetts’ girls,” Mr. Moses laughed. “If all the girls who now claim to have been the original “Floradora” girls had really been, there would have been enough sextettes for every theatre in the country.

Sometimes his painting ability was called on in odd ways, Mr. Moses said. In 1893 he executed the sets for Katherine Clemmons, whose “Lady of Venice” was financed somewhat disastrously by “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Miss Clemmons was fencing at a rehearsal one day in her armor costume when her gauntlet struck her eye as she raised her arm in protection from the thrust.

“Katherine had the most marvelous blue eyes of any woman I have ever known,” Mr. Moses said; “but inside of half an hour the one she had struck was the sorriest looking spectacle you ever saw, all black and yellow and swollen. She had a performance that night and was about hysterical over her condition, but when curtain time came, I painted her a couple of eyes that passed for perfect over the footlight.”

Just as Madame Modjeska was the easiest artist whom he ever worked, Mr. Moses designated the late Henry Miller as the most difficult.

MILLER FINICKY

“Henry was finicky,” Tom said. “He was forever fussing around about the most minute and inconsequential detail in the sets. When a painted line on a windowsill would give the desired effect, Henry would insist on an entire real sill.”

The most beautiful set he ever created was a deep sea effect for the spectacle “Robinson Crusoe,” Mr. Moses believes, while the most gruesome was the Iceland set from the allegory, “Hatred” by Charles Rand Kennedy, which Henry Miller played. The most difficult was the Niagara Falls scene in the melodrama “The Old Sleuth.” The falls were manufactured by placing thin silk over a frame and controlling movement by machines.

Favorite of all his creations was the street scene in Jerusalem for Bernhardt’s production of “Judas,” Mr. Moses said.

Mr. Moses is a member of the largest art clubs and societies in the country, and what portions of his diary, which he has kept since he was 20 years of age, have been published, bid fair to bring him added renown as an author.

“Before I pass on, I should love to see again some old good melodrama, such as “The Lights of London,” and some spectacles, such as “Cinderella,” Mr. Moses said. “And even if people should say, ‘Oh, well, Moses is getting to be an old crab,’ I should like to see girls’ skirts to their knees – at least.”

When Moses’ interview was published on Nov. 24, he was already on his way back to Oakland. Returning to work that Friday, November 25, he had only seventeen days to complete the work before the scenery was used for the Scottish Rite Reunion.

In addition to working on two Scottish Rite projects that November, Moses was mourning the passing of his younger brother.  Frank Deming Moses passed away on Nov. 7 in Trenton, New Jersey. Of the news, Moses wrote, “One sad incident that caused us all to realize how uncertain life is, was the death of brother Frank in Trenton on November 7^th. We knew nothing of his illness.” They had mourned his sister’s passing (actress Illinois “Illie” Moses) seven years earlier. Tom was the last remaining family member from his father’s first marriage.

Moses completion of the first 43 drops by December 12 was a significant accomplishment. The Oakland Tribune reported that degree work included several degrees:  “The fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth degrees will be conferred Thursday, two degrees from the nineteenth to thirtieth will be given, with the thirty-first and thirty-second degrees to be conferred Friday afternoon and evening respectively.” For the dedication ceremony, Moses wrote, “I had the honor of sitting with the 33° members as the reunion class started on the road.” More than 3000 members attended the festivities. On Dec. 13, 1927, the Oakland Tribune reported “Two hundred and fifty Blue Lodge Masons today began their journey through the Scottish Rite as members of the first class to receive their degrees  in the new $1,500,000 temple of the order which was officially dedicated last night.”

The week after the Dedication of the Oakland Scottish Rite, Moses finally enjoyed a few days off, writing,  “During this idle week for me I went to Los Angeles to meet Mr. Townsbey regarding the new work for McAlester, Oklahoma.  I took the sample case and arrived at the Hotel Rosslyn on December 15^th.  Saw my man, also Perry Weidner and Chas. Pyke…It will take me some time after I close this diary to complete Oakland, which I will tell about in my next year’s diary.” He would work on the scenery until March 6, 1928.

Moses’ stay in Oakland during the holiday season in 1927 was somewhat relaxing as his wife had arrived on Oct. 23 with the intent to stay for four months. Christmas day was spent with John McEwing and his family. After the initial push of 43 drops, Moses had a little extra time that he devoted to sketching local scenery. That spring he wrote, “I have enjoyed the sketching along the Alameda docks and the Oakland waterfront.”

Of completing the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery, Moses wrote, “The bridge and frames came down on the 6^th of March, five months from the day they were put up.  I completed eighty-five drops and set pieces.  A very complete outfit.” Of those eighty-five drops, only seventy-one survive. Moses’ contribution to the Oakland Scottish Rite was featured in the Oakland Tribune on Dec. 12, 1927. He even pasted the newspaper clipping into his scrapbook. The article announced, “Stage Setting and Scenery are Artistic. Appliances Are in Harmony with Other Splendors of New Building.” Including a portrait of Moses, the article reported:

In keeping with the magnificent beauty of the new Oakland Scottish Rite Temple is the stage scenery and equipment installed by Thomas G. Moses, representing the Sosman & Landis company of Chicago. The settings exemplify the degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry and portray an oriental splendor whose style ranges from Egyptian to the Assyrian, Persian, Gothic, Grecian, Norman Gothic, Babylonian, ending in the land of the Druids of Stonehenge, England.

Moses bears the reputation of being the most sought-after scenic artist ion America. Not only is he known for his masterful production of elaborate scenery and stage settings, but his own hand wields the brush in the majority of his creations.

Into the stage settings for the Oakland Scottish Rite Temple, he has put the knowledge and ability of over fifty years of scenic production work.

RICH STAGE SETTINGS

The richness of the stage settings concurs with the art of the ancient courts of Cyrus, Darius and Solomon, though the motif of the scenery is to provide a background for the colorful robes used in the Scottish Rite degree work.

The ideas of members conferring the degrees were combined with those of the designer. All painting was done at the new Temple where the designs could be discussed with the Oakland Scottish Rite officials. The excellent result of the cooperation is apparent in the finished work. Earl Sudderth and Lenn Harris, local artists, aided Moses in the actual painting of the huge settings.

The scenery for the Oakland Scottish Rite Temple is the largest Masonic scenery ever to be painted according to Moses. The drops on the stage measure thirty by fifty feet while the average drop for this type of work measures but twenty by thirty-six feet.

NEW DESIGN PAINTED

The canvas employed in this work is a heavy six-ounce duck tied to an iron pipe instead of wood. Moses started several months ago painting a complete set of new designs using a large neutral cyclorama, forty feet high and one hundred and thirty feet long. This is used as a background for many sets.

A special set of rigging was installed for the operating of the stage scenery. The rigging was designed and planned by Fred R. Megan, also of the Sosman & Landis company. Special concentration was given to the arrangement and construction of the rigging as the commodious stage of the Oakland Scottish Rite allows eighty-five drops to be raised out of sight. This allows plenty of pace for high sets.  This is the first Scottish Rite Temple to have wall slots, in which the counterweight arbors travel without interference with the operators. In the old system the operator’s hands were in constant danger of being injured by the counterweight frames. Steel sheaves with ball bearings, the best tiller rope cable, Cuban bolt hauling lines, iron arbors with counterweights constitutes the rigging equipment. Iron pipe battens are used in place of the old style wood battens. The material for this rigging was furnished by Oakland foundries. Patterns were shipped from the east while additional ones were made here. Megan was aided in this work by L. A. Abrott, of the Western Scenic studios.

All of the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery was produced with distemper paint on 6-ouonce cotton duck fabric. Distemper paint is a combination of dry pigment (powdered colors), and diluted animal hide glue, also known as size water. The powdered color was transformed into a paste and placed on the scenic artists’ palettes to be combined with the binder just prior to application. Rendering animal hides resulted in a gelatinous substance that was used by scenic artists for centuries. In the early twentieth century, the dried glue was sold as granules or slabs. The dried glue was soaked overnight in water and cooked in a double boiler the next morning. Once melted, this thick syrup was diluted with water to create a painting binder known as size. A thicker version used in fabric preparation was called strong size. A thinner version, called working size, or size water, was the binder mixed with pigment paste.

Strong size was brushed onto fabric at the beginning of the painting process. This part of the painting process was called sizing, and once completed the drop was considered sized.  Sizing a drop both tightened and sealed the fibers, preventing the future bleeding of dyes and reducing the overall amount of paint needed during the painting. It also allowed the drop’s surface to accept color in an even fashion for a successful composition.   After the strong-size coat dried, the subject matter was drawn, or “cartooned,” onto the drop with charcoal.  For the painting of each scene, dry pigment paste, and size water were combined on a paint table. A paint table for scenic artists was reminiscent to an artist’s palette but on a massive scale. Successful distemper painting for the stage demands extensive experience. In 1916, Frank Atkinson again reiterated this point in Scene Painting and Bulletin Art, writing:

And it must be born in mind that distemper colors change greatly in value as they dry out, especially those carrying white in the admixture, which dry lighter or higher in value. The student must not let a few failures discourage him. True ‘color deductions’ will come with experience, and unless trials are conscientiously persisted in, and in connection with, the study procedure set forth in this manual, your progress cannot be other than slow.

Over time, a water-based binder can fail for many reasons: the poor quality of the glue, improper handling of the glue during the painting process, water damage, environmental conditions, or age. When the binder in dry pigment paint breaks down, the color begins to flake or dust off the surface, eventually leaving areas of raw fabric. Fortunately, the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery is in remarkable condition for its age. Only a few pieces need immediate attention to prevent irreparable damage, but that is unlikely as the building is for sale.

The proposed sale of the Oakland Scottish Rite places this unparalleled scenery collection in jeopardy. It is very rare to encounter this scope of first-generation stage scenery in any historic venue, let alone one with this amount of artistic provenance and cultural significance. Painted illusion for the stage was ephemeral. Over time, most scenery that was designed and painted for a newly-constructed stage was replaced with modern-day equivalents. Stage settings delivered to Scottish Rite theaters were never intended to last much more than a decade, let alone a century.  Sosman & Landis guaranteed their scenery for twelve years, and yet the Oakland Scottish Rite scenery is turning ninety-eight years old.

It is critical to professionally document the Oakland Scottish Rite’s large-scale distemper artworks before they deteriorate any further.

My next few posts will look at the original scenic designs, lighting system and stage machinery delivered to the Oakland Scottish Rite in 1927, as well as the lives and careers of Sudderth, Harris and Abrott.

To be continued…

Copyright © 2025 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

Summer and fall were quite busy this year, hence the great pause in my blog posts. I juggled several historic scenery projects, including two at Scottish Rite theaters in California – Long Beach and Oakland.

The next several posts will examine these culturally significant collections, the scenic studios that contracted the work, and the individual artists who painted the drops. By now, I have written hundreds of pages that trace the artistic provenance for scenic art at both the Long Beach and Oakland Scottish Rite Theaters. In addition to compiling condition reports and replacements appraisals, I discussed unique strategies for collections care management.

There are many reading this post who may be unfamiliar with Scottish Rite Theaters and Masonic Scenery.  Every couple of years, I provide additional context in a blog post, explaining how Freemasonry intersects with both American theatre and popular entertainment. Today is the day to revisit this topic.

Understanding the basic structure of Freemasonry is imperative in exploring the evolution of Scottish Rite theatre spaces and degree productions. Freemasonry is divided by degrees. Think of a series of educational steps, or grades, in primary and secondary schools.  The first three degrees – Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason – are completed in a Blue Lodge, also referred to as the Symbolic Lodge. Having completed the third degree, a Master Mason can join variety of Masonic orders and appendant bodies. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is one way for a Master Mason to continue his education, from the 4^th to 32^nd degrees.

Scottish Rite degrees expand on a subject introduced in the Blue Lodge – the narrative surrounding the construction of King Solomon’s Temple and the assassination of his Master Architect. There are four Scottish Rite Bodies that have control over the twenty-nine degrees.

Scottish Rite Freemasons began to theatrically interpret their degree work by the mid-nineteenth century.  From the beginning, degree productions were intended as an educational tool. Only five degrees are considered indispensable, meaning that they should be fully conferred, or theatrically staged with appropriate costumes and paraphernalia. These Indispensable degrees, also referred to as Obligatory Degrees, include the 4^th, 14^th, 18^th, 30^th and 32^nd degrees. In 2003, I presented a paper entitled “Theatrical Interpretations of the Indispensable Degrees” at the Scottish Rite Research Society’s Membership Meeting, House of the Temple, Washington, D. C. It was later republished in “Heredom” (2004).

By the early twentieth century Scottish Rite theater spaces rivaled many major metropolitan theaters. Scottish Rite building associations spent thousands of dollars to outfit their stages with state-of-the art lighting systems and effects. Painted illusion created for Masonic productions mirrored that used in professional performance venues and by national touring companies across the United States.

Much of the earliest degree work occurred in the northern states. In the early nineteenth-century, the Scottish Rite was divided into two independently governed jurisdictions. They are known as the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction and the Southern Jurisdiction. An 1827 territorial agreement created two Scottish Rite jurisdictions divided along geographical demarcations.  The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction included the area east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River, including Delaware. The Southern Jurisdiction controlled the rest of the United States and its territories, including Minnesota.  Although geographically diminutive, the Northern Jurisdiction initially contained many affluent members and industrialized cities.  It also contained most of North America’s theatrical centers (Boston, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia). The early agreement between the two jurisdictions provided the northern states with the greatest potential for gain through the established intellectual, social and financial networks necessary to propagate the Scottish Rite. 

Propagation of the Scottish Rite through two distinct and geographically defined authorities also allowed a greater potential for diversity in degree work as the absence of written ritual permitted the degree work to assume a multitude of regional discrepancies.  American ritual revisionists and itinerant lecturers further invented variants through their own regional creations, as did fraternal supply companies.  The jurisdictional division resulted in competition between lodges, members and degree work.  Masonic agents and lecturers facilitated this competition as lodges were organized, and ritual was distributed across the country.  Each jurisdiction attempted to standardize degree work and re-assert their authoritative power.  The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction was the first to introduce theatrical interpretations of degree work, marketing it as a superior ritual experience. At the time, two rival Supreme Councils battled for control of the Northern Jurisdiction, whereas the Southern Jurisdiction remained unified under the leadership of Grand Commander Albert Pike.

Prior to leading the Southern Jurisdiction, Pike had revised the Scottish Rite ritual as part of a revision committee; self-publishing and personally distributing the first one hundred copies of his Magnum Opus, or Great Work. His text not only unified the degree system but also had a transformative effect on all future degree work in the United States. Pike provided detailed information for various degree settings, labeling them as “apartments,” inadvertently laying the groundwork for future degree productions. The Northern Jurisdiction soon revised their own ritual, mirroring the format and content of Pike’s work.  Charles T. McClenachan added illustrations to his own publication.

With this visual reference, scenic artists had direction and resources for Scottish Rite scenery.  

Northern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite Valleys began to stage elaborate productions, some including moving panoramas with fantastic sea voyages past Malta, Rhodes, Cyprus, and Joppa. Initially, degree productions used a standard drop-and-wing format associated with nineteenth-century American theatre. Situated in the east of the lodge room, roll drops suggested the appropriate scene, while wings masked the side areas of the stage. Scottish Rite stages began to construct fly lofts so that the drops could be raised instead of rolled. Painted illusion for late-nineteenth century Scottish Rite stages now included back drops cut drops and leg drops, each element raised and lowered with operating lines accessible from the fly floor. As the scenes were permanently installed on dedicated line sets, the counterweights were perfectly balanced, so there was no need for rope locks.

Pike controlled Southern Jurisdiction degree work from 1859 until his passing in 1891. He was adamantly opposed the theatrical interpretation of Scottish Rite degrees, stating the following in his 1882 Allocution:

The Rite in this Jurisdiction is a Rite of instruction, and not of scenic pomp and stage-show. I cannot conceive of a more useless occupation than the arranging and performing of degrees, neither the effect nor the purpose of which is to make men wiser or better, but which are acted as melodramas, to gratify an aesthetic taste and please the imagination, like the pageantry of cardinals and orioles.

During Pike’s administration very few Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite Bodies experimented with the theatrical staging of degree work. It was not until after Pike’s passing that Scottish Rite Valleys throughout the Southern Jurisdiction raced to construct proper theaters in their buildings. The earliest scenery collection delivered to a Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite stage was in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1896. As membership continued to increase, not only were stages enlarged, but entire buildings were replaced with massive structures boasting state-of-the-art theaters. Used scenery collections were re-sold to other Scottish Rite Valleys. For example, scenery and stage machinery from the Little Rock Scottish Rite was refurbished and divided between Pasadena, California, and Miami, Florida. The Little Rock scenery is still in use at the Pasadena Scottish Rite.

The history surrounding the theatrical interpretation of Scottish Rite degrees was the topic of my doctoral dissertation:  Scenic Shifts Upon the Scottish Rite Stage: Designing for Masonic Theatre, 1859-1929 (Wendy Waszut-Barrett, PhD diss., University of Minnesota, 2009).

Here is the abstract so you have a little more to go on:

Nineteenth-century secret societies often shared a similar ceremonial format yet offered distinct themes and subject matter – frequently revising their ritual to attract potential candidates. This dissertation proposes that the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry captivated members and offered a unique fraternal experience when they completely and successfully staged their fraternal ceremonies, moving portions of their ritual from the lodge room floor to the elevated stage. Exploring Scottish Rite degree productions as fraternal imitations of mass-produced optical entertainments, this study argues that American Victorian theatre and nineteenth-century spectacle provided the vehicle that catapulted the Scottish Rite to the forefront of the American fraternal movement. The extant scenery collections currently housed in many Scottish Rite theatres depict an aesthetic shift in the field of scenic art from an itinerant to a studio style, providing a primary source for both theatre scholars and practitioners to explore historical painting techniques and color palettes otherwise unavailable. The commercial theatre typically discarded or repainted scenic backdrops at a production’s close, leaving only secondary source material in the form of playbills and theatre reviews to illustrate theatre aesthetics. Through the analysis of extant fraternal backdrop collections, historical scene designs, Scottish Rite ritual, Masonic legislative proceedings, fraternal supply catalogs, personal manuscripts, and archival documents, this dissertation examines the multifaceted fraternal, theatrical, social and economic ideologies facilitating the theatrical interpretation of Scottish Rite degrees between 1859 and 1929. The significance of this study lies in the present availability of complete backdrops collections and their perilous condition. Furthermore, it recognizes the imperative need to preserve our theatrical and fraternal heritage through documenting the origin and importance of Scottish Rite scenery, understanding the availability of historical scenic art, and preventing the further deterioration of this primary resource.

My passion for this topic has never diminished; if anything, it has intensified over the years with each new discovery. Research that began in libraries and rare book rooms shifted to online searches and digital databases.  I began collecting both fraternal and theatrical memorabilia to illustrate this history, even acquiring an entire Scottish Rite scenery collection. Other artifacts in my personal collection include studio designs, source materials, business records, and a wide range of supplemental materials. All the while, I documented, appraised, repaired, and replicated historic distemper scenery at venues across the country.

Unless you have stepped onto a Scottish Rite stage and looked up at the dozens of historic backdrops, you have no idea about the scope of painted illusion for the stage; the thousands of scenes that were painted in scenic studios and shipped across the country. In many cases, Scottish Rite stages are time capsules, complete with original stage machinery and lighting systems. However, in the blink of an eye these remarkable stagehouses can become irreparably altered, gutted, or razed. I don’t know how many will survive the next five years, let alone a decade. The anticipated sale of the Santa Fe Scottish Rite in 2014 was what prompted visual artist , Jo Whaley to start photographing the historic stage scenery. In the summer of 2016, Jo and I photographed the treasure chamber scene.

The image accompanied our book proposal. It was published by the Museum of New Mexico Press in 2018, The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture, and Theatre .

Jo and I functioned as both co-editors and contributors. I was one of three contributing authors, working with Rick Hendricks and Khristaan Villela.  Jo handled all the visual imagery. We included a portfolio section that featured each scene as it would have appeared in 1912, complete with historic costumes and properties.

I wrote the descriptions for each degree, describing in two or three sentences what was happening on stage. Instead of documenting each scene as still image, Jo activated the space, suggesting motion even though the figures were trapped in time. We wanted to capture the essence of production that transformed thousands of Masons for more than a century. The book was well received and we received the Ralph Emerson Twitchell Award from the Historical Society of New Mexico in 2019.

The very nature of theatre scenery is ephemeral, never intending to last beyond the production or a season. Touring productions and stock scenery collections were the exception, but even those installations were not intended to last more than a decade. In 1894, Sosman & Landis guaranteed that their scenery would last for twelve years. A little more than a decade, and yet examples of their work remain, despite some being almost 150 years old. Remnants of historic scenery collections are scattered all over the country, tucked away in opera houses, social halls and other performance venues.

Scottish Rite Theatres are different, they remain suspended in the same theatre in which they were installed, some even hanging from original operating lines. One can step upon a Scottish Rite stage and share the same space that performers and stagehands experienced over a century ago. Everything is locked in time yet still used for contemporary performances.

From the late-nineteenth- to mid-twentieth century, theatrical suppliers marketed Masonic scenery as unique, yet most scenic designs depicted common subject matter already utilized by many theaters. Standard stock scenes, such as woodlands, landscapes, ocean shores, babbling brooks, ancient ruins, palatial courtyards, Gothic interiors and Egyptian tombs graced both private and public stages alike.  Only a few of the scenes designed for fraternal stages include objects and emblems inserted into scenic backdrops, set pieces and properties. This means that a variety of shows can still be staged in a Scottish Rite Theatre. Aida, Pirates of Penzance, Into the Woods, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, are just a few examples that have used Scottish Rite scenery collections over the years.

When architects, historical societies, investors, and other stakeholders examine historic theaters for renovation, they carefully research layout, color palettes, and painted details. Their focus becomes locked on building facades, plasterwork, entrances, lobbies, and auditoriums. Stagehouses are often ignored. Instead of exploring the historical and cultural significance of backstage areas, stage systems and distemper stage scenes are deemed out-of-date and/or replaceable.  Far too frequently, the stage of a restored theatre is gutted and replaced with new systems and technology, removing all evidence of an industry that shaped the American experience for generations. Even extant stage scenery, painted by significant local, regional, and nationally-recognized artists, are perceived as replaceable or disposable. In many cases, these large-scale distemper artworks cannot survive the removal and transportation to a new location.

Sosman & Landis, of Chicago produced the largest number of Scottish Rite scenery collections in North America. The firm’s first employee and final president, Thomas G. Moses was personally responsible for the design and delivery of Masonic scenery for 55 Scottish Rite Theatre, 7 Shrine Auditoriums, 14 Commanderies (York Rite) and 9 Grottos (Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm).

Moses was repeatedly called back to repaint stage settings for numerous Masonic Temples, even after a period of twenty-five years. These Masonic venues included Little Rock, Arkansas, Fort Scott, Kansas, McAlester, Oklahoma, and Salt Lake City, Utah. Moses brokered and refurbished used Masonic scenery collections across the country, a practice implemented by Sosman & Landis under Moses’ leadership during the early twentieth century. Sosman & Landis scenery is in jeopardy at Scottish Rite theaters across the country.  A few weeks ago, I created a 7-min. video that tries to convey what Joe Sosman & Perry Landis were able to accomplish and the state of many historic scenery collections. Now is the time to get out your camera and ask to see the scenery. Click HERE to watch the video. I recognize that not everything can be saved, but it can be documented.

To be continued…