Thomas G. Moses – Page 39

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 521: Palette & Chisel, November – The Changing Times of Scenic Art

Part 521: Palette & Chisel, November – The Changing Times of Scenic Art

Thomas G. Moses was a member of the Palette and Chisel Club in Chicago and contributed a variety of articles to their monthly newsletter during the late 1920s. His series “Stage Scenery” was first published during September 1927. The article, however, was written by Moses during the spring of 1918.

Palette & Chisel newslsetter from November 1927 with Thomas G. Moses’ article “Stage Scenery”

Here is Moses’ final November installment during 1927:

“Advertising in theatrical papers and magazines is quite necessary for this line of scenic painting. Illustrated catalogues are gotten up with a good deal of care and half-tones of the actual painted scenes are used. As stages differ in many ways, especially in size, from nine to forty feet in depth, it is quite essential that accurate dimensions be obtained. A card is sent to the prospective buyers which they fill out, giving all the required measurements. The scenes needed are listed, estimates made, the order is received, and each scene is given to the artist who is the most competent to execute that especial scene.

Advertisement for P. Dodd Ackerman & Co. scenic artists and constructors, 1905

Sosman and Landis shipping Label attached to a wooden arbor

On completion the drop and borders are rolled up the short way and boxed, the frame-work is crated and shipped by express or freight. Instructions are sent for the hanging and setting of all scenes; on many stages it requires the supervision of an expert who is sent to do the work. Models and sketches are made and a miniature stage with all lines and lights, is used to set up the different scenes. The customer can see exactly what he is going to receive. As the average small theatre does not change the scenery within a period of ten years or more it has to be very neutral in design and color so it will not tire the audience in the ten years of wear.

Scenic artists working on a paint bridge, high above the stage

For many years the larger theatres in many parts of the country put in a paint frame and bridge. The scenery was then built and painted in the local theatre, which necessitated the artist and assistant, with a good mechanic, to travel about the country. The writer did this for twenty years, from Maine to California, back and forth, some theatres taking as long as ten months to stock while others were finished in two months. In those days the scenic artist and his work were looked upon in an entirely different light than they are today. Possibly it is the fault of the artists; an indifference as to the real worth of their work has caused the managers to look to others for suggestions, making a simple workman of the artist, one who only follows their instructions, allowing the stage manager to receive all of the credit for the stage settings, while the artist labors on the paint frame all through the hot and sultry night to produce something artistic.

The scenic art has been the starting point for a great many of the well-known picture painters. Among the English painters are Clarkson, Stanfield and David Roberts. All were prominent scenic artists and became as great in picture painting. Some of the leading American artists were scenic artists. J. Francis Murphy was an assistant to Mr. Strauss, who was the artist at Hooley’s Theatre in 1874. The well-known illustrator and water colorist, Charles Graham, was also an assistant to Mr. Strauss at this same time.”

The article continued, “W. C. Fitler was another scenic artist who made good pictures. Jules Guerin, the noted illustrator, started his art career as a scenic artist. I might name several dozen artists who owe their early training to scenic art.

There are a dozen Chicago scenic artists who have forsaken the paint frame pictures for the easel pictures. In a way I do not blame them, for scenic painting is made up of ling hours and hard manual labor. The bigness of the work appalls many who venture into the game, and, with its dirt, soon discourages them and they looker for a cleaner vocation. The close confinement of the old theatre days was another disagreeable feature of the work that never appealed to anyone; no daylight, always long hours and foul air.

The studio of today is an entirely different proposition; a large airy room, plenty of space in which to work, regular hours, all new work, and with very few exceptions, congenial companions; each artist specializing in one line of work, plenty to learn each day and good salaries paid to all, is a big inducement to forsake the stock painting in the theatre and accept the studio work.

The establishment of the scenic studios has created a great deal of competition and sometimes it is very keen, for there are quite a number of assistants who do not know the business thoroughly, yet can convince a certain type of theatre managers who, very often are managers of a very good theatres, that their painting is just as good as that of a man of more than thirty years’ experience and a national reputation.

The raw material has advanced at such a rate that it is impossible to keep pace with it. At this writing (spring of 1918) with the great world’s war going on, common cotton has advanced to thirty-four cents a yard when two years ago it was only eleven cents, and the quality has dropped one hundred percent.

It is impossible to get the rich color we had two years ago. The color question is one of great importance. To begin with, one of the first important features of scene painting is the ground coating or “priming,” whiting and glue size. It must be very carefully mixed and “just so.” T takes several buckets to prime and ordinary drop; the edge must be kept wet so the color will be even all over. If the color edge is dry it will become too thick and will crack when rolled up. In many cases a strong tint in the priming is used for a tonal feeding, especially in landscape. It gives a certain amount of looseness when plenty of tonal color is left in the painting.

The end.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 520 – Palette & Chisel, October 1927 – Creating Stock Scenery

Part 520: Palette & Chisel, October 1927 – Creating Stock Scenery

Thomas G. Moses was a member of the Palette and Chisel Club in Chicago and contributed a variety of articles to their monthly newsletter during the late 1920s. His series “Stage Scenery” began during September 1927, however, it was originally written during the spring of 1918.

Here is the third part of Moses’ “Stage Scenery” in the Palette & Chisel newsletter during October 1927:

“The material used to paint on is a fine grade Russian linen and a heavy grade of cotton cloth. Linen is used for all scenery on frames; the cotton is used for drops and borders, usually called “hangers.” The lumber is a fine grade of clear, white pine, without knots or sap. It has to be very clear and straight grained so it will stand upright without too much bracing.

After the canvas has been carefully prepared with a priming coat of whiting and glue is thoroughly dried, the artist draws his design with charcoal, which must be carefully done. In many cases the model must be laid off in squares and the same is carried up on the drop or set pieces. This enables the artist to produce the model exactly as part of the paint frame is below the bridge most of the time so the artist cannot see all of the drop. After the scene is drawn in it is traced with ink, which enables the artist to lay in the main local colors without destroying the drawing. The drawing out of an interior is very laborious. The work has to be done very accurately and pounces and stencils made, as there are many pieces to be covered.

In case of a landscape, they sky is laid in first, distance follows, then the middle distance, and there are many pieces to be covered.

In case of a landscape, the sky is laid in first, distance follows, then the middle distance, and the foreground last. The trees are run up when the sky is dry, which takes a short time. After all the broad “masses” of the “lay in” are dry and a clean palette has been arranged by the “paint boy” and the pots and pails holding the “lay in” are placed under the palette, “(a clear space is required for the many tints that are mixed on the palette, several small cups of dark purple and a strong rich color is used to emphasize the darks in the foreground) comes the careful work of finishing a landscape; strong shadows and half tones in foliage up to the strongest flickering of sunlight. We now take a little more time for our work. The “lay in” had to be done very quickly as it is very essential that the colors be kept will blend, which, in turn, makes the “cut up” easier. A drop representing a landscape 24×36 feet in size can be “laid in” with a lot of rough detail inside of two or three hours and retain wet edges.

As the distemper colors dry out several shades lighter t causes many anxious moments to a novice. There was no trouble with color fading or changing before fireproofing; it eats all the blue (especially Cobalt) out of purple, leaving a bad color, neither a blue nor red, which makes trouble for the artist.

Showing difference between wet and dry pigment colors during the painting process

In most cases, in painting a landscape, the artist endeavors to obtain his dark colors in the “lay in” so that when the “cut up” comes it will be all light colors. Most of the artists start to finish the drops from the foreground, getting the strength of the foreground first. Big, broad strokes are what count. It may look rather coarse close by, but when the completed scene is properly lighted you will find a surprise awaiting you. We know how to light a scene, but often some of our best effects are purely accidental. We follow these accidents up, develop them, and find soft, atmospheric color, all to be done with electricity.

Looking up at a collection of backdrops and seeing the bottom battens

Stock scenery for small halls and opera houses and for large vaudeville theatres has grown to be quite a business. Scenic studios have sprung up like mushrooms all over the country. To get the very best facilities for handling all sizes of scenery, the studio has to have a height of at least 54 feet, allowing a drop 30 feet high to be painted from a stationary floor, 24 feet from the basement floor. The width of the studio should be at least 50 feet and 150 feet in length. A building of these dimensions will accommodate fifteen paint frames, giving work for fifteen artists, five paint boys, four helpers to handle the scenery on and off the frames, two sewing women and six carpenters to build and prepare the frames for the scenes. This would constitute a first class studio and turn put a lot of work.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 519 – Palette & Chisel, October 1927 – The Design Process

Part 519: Palette & Chisel, October 1927 – The Design Process

Palette & Chisel newsletter from October 1927 with article written by Thomas G. Moses.

Thomas G. Moses was a member of the Palette and Chisel Club in Chicago and contributed a variety of articles to their monthly newsletter during the late 1920s. His series for “Stage Scenery” started during September 1927

Here is the second part of Moses’ October installment to the Palette and Chisel newsletter during 1927:

“The artist makes a ground plan of the scene, scaled to one-half inch to the foot. The stage director approves of it, the model is made and every detail is worked out in the model. The recessed window calls for glass or the equivalent; a thin piece of mica or celluloid is glued on the model over the opening cut in the cardboard, the sash lines are drawn with heavy ink, and small bits of heraldry or stained glass are introduced. All the doors have the small thickness jambs, the floor is drawn in imitation of inlaid woods, the whole model is carefully colored and when completed is submitted to the stage director who, in turn, submits it to the playwright and the producing manager. If any minor changes are necessary they are made. When the model is O.K. it is turned over to the stage machinist and an estimate is made to build and prepare the scene for the artist who makes an estimate to paint the scene, which includes the cost of the model.

When the scene is ready for the artist it is placed on his frame. When painted, the machinist puts on the finishing hardware and lines. It is now ready to be moved to the theatre to be produced or rehearsed. The artist and stage machinist superintend the setting and lighting for the first time. It is then turned over to the stage director, and here is where the real hard part of the production comes. After many nights of labor on the scene, as well as long days in preparing the models and painting the scene, completely fatigued and ready for a good nights sleep, he must attend the rehearsal, supposed to be a scenic rehearsal. It is anything but that. The chances are that a umber of artists are interested as there are three or more acts and often a number of scenes to each act, each scene probably painted by a different artist; so each must wait until his act or scene is called. Lucky the fellow who has the first act for he is apt to get away before 10:00 P.M. The one with the forth act will probably get away about 3:00 A.M. for the director will probably go over an act several times before pronouncing it perfect. If this happens in the third act the artist of the fourth act is alone in his long waiting. After he is through and on his way back to New York City he will probably be almost unable to keep awake.

Most of the new productions of New York City are tried out for a week or so over in New Jersey, at Jersey City, Newark, Trenton, Plainfeild or Elizabeth; they all have to stand for it, for that is about the only time they get any of the Broadway production, and the show soon hears from them. If it happens to be poor and the weak points are strengthened and rehearsed every day until they are in good shape for New York critics. The scenic decorations are supposed to be perfect; in fact, they must be perfect.

The scenic artist should know all branches of scenic art and not specialize too much. While it is almost impossible to be perfect in all branches, he should have a good knowledge of landscape, architecture, figures, free hand scroll, marines and drapery; in fact, about everything under the sun. While it is necessary for an artist to be absolutely correct in many details he very often has to gloss over a great many important points which are not noticeable to the public.

Within the past few years many of the stage interiors have solid wood wainscoting, six or seven feet high, very heavy door casing and thick jambs. These solid and realistic interiors are all right but even the relief ornaments and mouldings often have to be high lighted and the shadows made strong. The walls are usually made of some real fabric. So on these scenes there is very little work for the artist. Even in the exteriors the modern, up-to-date idea is to have a lot of artificial flowers and shrubs among the painted pieces.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 518- Palette & Chisel, October 1927 – The Paint Studio

Part 518: Palette & Chisel, October 1927 – The Paint Studio

Here is the first part of the October installment during October 1927:

“The scenic artist has gradually drifted from the theatre to the scenic studios, where productions are designed, built and painted. The dramatic or operatic stock company employs its own artists and stage mechanics. The dramatic company usually has its scenery painted in the theatre. The opera company usually has so much scenery, and the greater part is carried over from year to year, that it has to have a large storehouse and usually combines a storehouse and paint room.

We visit the theatre studio first, picking our way down an unlighted alley until we find a door marked “STAGE ENTRANCE. NO ADMITTANCE.” The fine old crab who guards the door is one of the “down and outs” of the profession. He has held all of the good positions offered by the profession and he will tell you: “Me and Booth played together at Oshkosh.” He was quite likely, a property man or stage hand, hardly veer an actor or scenic artist. He is usually deaf, but his sense of feeling and seeing are very acute, so a piece of silver felt and seen opens the door and one is directed to the stairway which is found in the corner, is circular in shape and built of iron.

After a dizzying climb of thirty feet above the stage floor you will land on a solid floor called a “fly floor,” From here all scenery which is fastened to a set of lines, is raised and lowered. The drop curtain is also managed from here. In the modern theatre all of this work is done from the stage floor level. Thousands of feet of half-inch rope is required to handle the scenery, to say nothing of the steel cable that I used.

You feel your way along the rail called the “Pin rail”; to this all of the lines are fastened. You will see a bright light at the rear of the stage; this is the “paint bridge” – six feet wide and reaching from one fly floor to the other. Between this bridge and the back wall is hung the paint frame, also one on the other side of the bridge. These two frames are skeleton frames, as light as possible, but strong enough to hold the frame pieces of scenery of the drops and borders to be painted. These are operated from the floor by a windlass; plenty of counterweights are used to balance the heavy load of scenery. Everything that hangs is operated over pulleys placed on the “gridiron,” sixty feet above the stage floor. A “strip” light is necessary for painting. The artist has a designing room on the fly floor. The palette is two feet wide and eight feet long, two feet and six inches high, mounted on a table with castors. A smooth surface is required for mixing of tints, a set of palette bowls, each six inches in diameter, about sixteen in number and filled with the colors mixed in the pure state with water – other tints are mixed in pans or small pails; a pail of glue size and a pail of clean water, a few brushes. A few strong strokes, with a crayon stick filled with charcoal, you see the design and the painting starts immediately.

In this case we will not do any painting until we find out just what it is going to be. Before any actual work is done the playwright has to give over the manuscript to the manager who has agreed to produce it. The stage director is called in and sometimes whole scenes are cut in spite of anything the playwright may say. He often rehearses the play. If he is a big man, with a reputation, he pays no attention to any one and does as he pleases. When everything is O.K.’d by everyone the manuscript is handed to the scenic artist who, in turn, reads it very carefully and makes notes of the principal “business bits” which are usually marks with red ink. This is very important, as the playwright has fitted the scenes and play together and has specified as follows: “Act 1. Scene 1. A library – Tudor Gothic – one large arch C – fireplace R C – recessed window with seat, doors down L door 2-R night. Place, any place in England, early Nineteenth Century.” By making notes and reading carefully we find a character opens and enters the recessed window, necessitating a different construction; door down right must open on stage.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 517 – Palette & Chisel, September 1927

Part 517: Palette & Chisel, September 1927

*Palette and Chisel* newsletter, Sept. 1927.

Thomas G. Moses was a member of the Palette and Chisel Club in Chicago and contributed a variety of articles to their monthly newsletter during the late 1920s. There were many scenic artists who were members of this art club. However, “Uncle Tom” was the leader of the group and the last president of the largest scenery firm in Chicago by 1915. I have included his articles about sketching trips from the 1880s that were printed in the newsletter, but here is his series of articles about the artistic process of painting stage scenery. His series for “Stage Scenery” started during September 1927. At the time, Moses was 71 years old.

The editor of the newsletter introduces Moses and his series of articles:

“Stage Scenery How it is Painted. Tom Moses Tells the Tricks of the Trade.

This is the first article of a group by Thomas G. Moses to be printed serially in the Palette and Chisel. For over a half century Tom Moses has designed and painted stage settings for productions that were famous in their time. He was associated with the famous scenic firm of Sosman and Landis which eventually became just Tom Moses though the old firm name still flies at the mast head. In this first offering, Mr. Moses tells about the mimic world in which he works; he tells of the “sets”, how and why they are made, while analyzing some o their production from the managerial and technical standpoint. This article (continued) will acquaint the reader with everyday work and problems of the scenic artist. Later Mr. Moses will tell of the sketching trips in search of new material, made to out of the way places. The first trip is dated 1884.”

Here is Moses’ first installment to the Palette and Chisel newsletter:

“Stage Scenery 1918

The first movable scenery was invented and painted by an Italian artist by the name of Peruzzi and used in a play called “La Calandra”, which was presented before Pope Leo X in 1508, and the further developments of his inventions, which were thoroughly in accordance with the spirit of the age, led to the necessity of a recessed stage with a frame, like a picture.

Shakespeare used placards naming the different scenes, as “This is a street,” “This is a forest,” etc. A few of Shaekespeare’s disciples attempted to do this even to this advanced age, but with very little success, for it leaves too much for the imagination.

Scenery in connection with the legitimate drama or Grand Opera must be very authentic in design and truthful in color. In a “Spectacle,” “Light Opera,” “Musical Comedy,” “Burlesque,” or “Vaudeville” acts, a scenic artist can go the limit on design and give the public a riot of color, and in return for this they will howl with delight.

Thirty years ago most of the scenery was painted in the theatre, a room or paint bridge being arranged on the stage of adjoining room for that purpose. Each theatre furnished the necessary sets for the traveling company, which was headed by some big star. In the larger cities, the theatre employed a scenic artist and an assistant to keep regular stock scenery in good condition and to supply and special scene needed. While the regular stock scenery in each theatre was nearly complete there was always a call for some scene not to be found in stock. As the scene plot was sent ahead and turned over to the scenic artist, the required scene was built and painted. Often the scene was painted on an old drop, or over old framed wings.

The big spectacles, similar to the Kiralfy’s immense production, or the well-known Black Crook, had to carry all of their scenery, several car-loads, for it would cost a fortune to paint anything for these shows. At the present time nearly everyone carries scenery, and, as a rule, a lot of it.

In the early days of scene painting in America, the majority of the artists were of English descent; many of them had a weakness for the flowing bowl, and many tales have been told of several artists and what beautiful scenes they would paint while in their cups. As a rule an artist has to be in a very normal condition to paint any kind of a scene and then he will often fall down on the job.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 515 – The Palette & Chisel Club – Fox Lake

Part 515: The Palette & Chisel Club – Fox Lake

In 1906, Thomas G. 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 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.” Moses was a member of another fine art society before joining the Palette & Chisel Club. In 1904, he became a member of the Salmagundi Club in New York, sponsored by R. M. Shurtleff.

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.

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 the beginning it was quite rustic. Of the camping experience, Moses wrote, “June 1^st, 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.”

This is the tent at the Palette and Chisel Club’s Fox Lake camp in 1907. Image posted by Stuart Fullerton at paletteandchisel blog. Here is the link: https://paletteandchisel.wordpress.com/2012/01/

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 2014, I discovered a map on the backside of a stage drop in Winona, Minnesota. This was while we were putting the Scottish Rite scenery into temporary storage. The map was located near the top batten, scribbled in pencil. Around this same time, I came discovered an artist’s cartoon depicting the Fox Lake area.

Cartoon of the Fox Lake area where the Palette and Chisel Club established their summer camp for sketching. Map published in the Palette & Chisel newsletter, September 1927.

Map of the Scott Lake area drawn by a Sosman & Landis artist on the back of a theatre drop for the Scottish Rite stage in Winona, Minnesota. The backdrop was created at the Sosman & Landis studio in Chicago during 1909.

Map of the Fox Lake area created by Palette & Chisel member Otto Hake, published in the Jan. 1928 Palette & Chisel newsletter.

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.”

Painting by Thomas G. Moses of the Palette & Chisel Club house at Fox Lake, 1909. From the collection of Wendy Waszut-Barrett.

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, but it was one painting labeled “Fox Lake, 1909” that came to my attention in 2017. The small artwork prompted my travel to Maui in 2017 to meet the owner of the painting – Moses’ great-grandson. I first contacted him during 1996 while working on “Theatre of the Fraternity,” a touring museum exhibit curated by Lance Brockman. Twenty years went by before I received a response from Moses’ great grandson; it was during the spring of 2016, just before the elimination of my position as Curatorial Director at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. Some things are just meant to be, and I returned to Minnesota during the fall of 2017 with several of Moses’ paintings, including three small ones depicting Fox Lake in 1909.

Painting by Thomas G. Moses of Fox Lake, 1909. From the collection of Wendy Waszut-Barrett.

Backside of painting by Thomas G. Moses, 1909. From the collection of Wendy Waszut-Barrett.

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 motor boat 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 3^rd, 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 17^th 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 1920, 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.” By this time, Moses had been venturing up to paint at Fox Lake for thirteen years. His interest in the area would soon wane. At the time, he was traveling quite a bit to California for work, and writes of the West Coast’s appeal to artists. 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.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 511 – Thomas G. Moses and Victor Higgins

Part 511: Thomas G. Moses and Victor Higgins

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Victor Higgins, one of our promising young men, quit to take up picture painting and started with a strong determination to win, and I think he will.”

Victor Higgins, friend and fellow Sosman & Landis artist to Thomas G. Moses

Victor Higgins, A.N.A. (1884-1949) was a friend to Moses over the years. They painted together in both scenic and fine art studios, remaining close until Moses’ death in 1934. Higgins was born in Shelbyville, Indiana. Purportedly, it was an itinerant sign painter who inspired Higgins to become an artist. Leaving home at the age of fifteen, he entered the Chicago Art Institute and studied alongside E. Martin Hennings and Walter Ufer by 1899. It was during his time in Chicago that Higgins began painting for the theatre, eventually meeting Moses. Higgins worked at Sosman & Landis alongside Art Oberbeck, Fred Scott, Edgar Payne, Ansel Cook, Walter C. Hartson, William Nutzhorn, David Austin Strong, and an artist named Evans. Higgins also worked for David Hunt at Sosman & Landis’ eastern affiliate New York Studios. His fellow New York Studio artists included William Smart, Art Rider, and Al Dutheridge.

As Moses recorded, Higgins’ “strong determination to win” prompted him to seek further artistic instruction beyond that available in Chicago. In 1908, Higgins travelled to New York, meeting Robert Henri (1865-1929) – a leading figure of the Ashcan School of art. Henri’s students included Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, George Bellow, Norman Raeben, Louis D. Fancher and Stuart Davis. He spurned the Academy and Impressionist school of painting, promoting a revived realism and rallying “for paint to be as real as mud, as the clods of horse shit and snow that froze on Broadway in the winter.” It was this instruction that likely guided Higgins’ art throughout the course of his career. Higgins’ artistic training in New York prompted him to continue his education in Europe.

The same year that Higgins traveled to New York, former Chicago Mayor and avid art collector, Carter H. Harrison, financed his artistic study in Europe at the Académie de la Grand Chaumière in Paris. There, he became a pupil of Rene Menard and Lucien Simon. Higgins then went to Munich where he was a pupil of Hans von Hyeck. During his first year in Europe, he sent Moses several postcards to share his journey with the older artist. In 1909 Higgins mailed Moses a postcard from 16 Promenadenplatz, Munich.

Victor Higgins with a group of American Artists in Munich, posted at www.LouisGrell.com

Postcard sent from Victor Higgins to Thomas G. Moses in 1909.

Chicago offered many opportunities for artists during this time. During Mayor Harrison’s administration, the Chicago City Council created the Commission for the Encouragement of Local Art (1914-1945). This commission used taxpayer money to purchase paintings and sculpture created by Chicago artists. It is no wonder that Chicago was a leading artistic force at the time and became an artistic hub where many artists gathered.

Victor Higgins worked on a Sosman & Landis project for the American Music Hall in Chicago during 1909.

In 1909, Higgins briefly returned to work for Sosman & Landis again, decorating the interior for the American Music Hall in Chicago. This was a time when the studio was swamped with Masonic work and the scenic artists were busily producing massive Scottish Rite scenery collections at both their main and annex studios. Two of the projects were for the Scottish Rites in Atlanta, Georgia and Kansas City, Kansas. At the time, the studio was also busy creating a huge spectacle called “The Fall of Messiah” for the White City, a Coliseum Show, and a large installation of scenery for Detroit’s Temple Theatre.

The scenery that was being produced at the Sosman & Landis Studio when Victor Higgins returned in 1909. This image of the Scottish Rite scenery from Atlanta in 1909 is part of the online scenery database at the University of Minnesota Performing Arts Archives. Here is the link: https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/scenicsearch

Beginning in 1912, Higgins began exhibiting his artwork with the Palette & Chisel Club, earning national recognition and the Gold Medal (1913). Moses was also a member of this same fine art society, also exhibiting many times over the decades. Other artistic awards granted to Higgins were from the Municipal Art League (1915), the Logan Medal of the Art Institute of Chicago (1917), and the first Altman prize for the National Academy of Design (1918). He was represented in permanent collection of the Art Institute in Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles museum, and many other public and private collections.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 510 – Thomas G. Moses and the Orpheum Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri

Part 510: Thomas G. Moses and the Orpheum Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri

Postcard of the first Orpheum in Kansas City, Missouri, used from 1898 to 1914.

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses recorded that Sosman & Landis provided drop curtains and scenery for the Salt Lake Orpheum and the Kansas City Orpheum. The Kansas City Orpheum was advertised as “Kansas City’s Society Vaudeville Theater and located at W. 9^th Street and May Street. (Kansas City Journal, 10 Sept. 1899, page 14). The building, originally H. D. Clark’s 9^th Street Theatre, was leased by the Orpheum Theatre and Realty Co. in 1898.

The first Orpheum Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. Thomas G. Moses of Sosman & Landis Studio provided scenery for this venue in 1905.

In 1905, Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide listed that Kansas City had a population of approximately 200,000 people with six performance venues – the Willis Wood Theatre, the Grand Opera House, the Gilliss Theatre, the Auditorium, the Century and the Orpheum. The Century was a burlesque house while the Orpheum was a vaudeville theater.

The Kansas City Orpheum was managed by M. Lehman, with standard ticket prices at 15 cents to 75 cents. Located on the ground floor, the venue was illuminated with electricity (Volt. 110, Edison). The seating capacity was 2,084, with 594 in the parquet, 556 in the balcony, 556, 850 in the gallery, and 84 in the boxes. The theater did not have a scene room, but the stage had one bridge; it was located along the upstage wall.

Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical guide for 1903-1904 noted that the proscenium measured 40 feet wide by 36 feet high, with 63 feet the stage to the rigging loft and 40 feet between fly girders. The height of grooves for wings was 22 feet in height, yet the number of sets was not listed The depth of the stage was 44 feet from the footlights to the back wall. The distance between the sidewalls of the stage was 72 feet. The depth under the stage was 18 feet with seven traps.

Julius Cahn’s Official Theatrical Guide for 1905-1906 included a few changes to the technical specifications of the stage, likely why the new scenery was added at the time. When Moses was working for the Kansas City Orpheum, it had just undergone a partial renovation to the stage area. In 1905 the depth under the stage was decreased from 18 feet to 12 feet. The number of traps was also reduced from seven to two. The grooves height of grooves was also shortened from 22 feet to 20 feet. Additionally, the venue was no longer listed as being illuminated with a combination gas and electric system; it was solely electric. I have located no reason for the alteration to the building during 1905.

On December 26, 1914 a second Orpheum Theater was completed at an expense of $500,000. The new building was located at 1214 Baltimore Avenue. The previous Kansas City Orpheum Theater fell into misuse, became neglected, badly vandalized, and was eventually razed by 1922. The new Orpheum’s auditorium included a domed roof that was painted blue and highlighted with artificial stars, suggesting a nighttime atmosphere. The main stage curtain was made of wire woven asbestos painted to resemble velvet drapery and weighed in excess of 1,200 pounds.

Postcard of the second Orpheum Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, built in 1914.

The second Orpheum Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri, built in 1914.

Moses painted a few wire curtains throughout the course of his career. He wrote that they were “hard to paint.” A wire fireproof curtain in 1886 was for Jacob Litt at the Academy of Music in Milwaukee, and another was for Cleveland. In 1913, Moses painted a woven wire asbestos curtain that became damaged during shipping. Of the experience, Moses wrote, “big dents killed my picture.” He later explained that there was no remedy to repair any dented wire curtain, especially after folding one. Moses explained that “they should never be folded, always rolled.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 509: The Orpheum in Salt Lake City

Part 509: The Orpheum in Salt Lake City

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses wrote that he worked for the new Orpheum theatre in Salt Lake, Utah. “The Salt Lake Telegram” reported that the new Orpheum Theater would open on Christmas day (5 Dec 1905, page 4). The theater did open on its targeted date, but it was a last minute rush. The newspaper noted, “With a few gilded trimmings and with walls and ceilings yet untouched by the hands of the decorator, the New Orpheum theater made its bid for public favor last night. Manager Bristes [sic] promised to have the home of vaudeville open Christmas night and he did, despite discouraging delays from one source and another” (26 December 1905, page 5).

Plans for the Orpheum, published in the “Salt Lake Tribune,” 16 July 1905, page 8

Entrance to the 1905 Orpheum Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah. The drop curtain and scenery for this venue were provided by Sosman & Landis studio under the supervision of Thomas G. Moses.

Detail of the 1905 Orpheum Theatre entrance in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“The Salt Lake Telegram” explained a few of the delays, “The same mystery that surrounds the consignment of opera chairs also enveloped the two carloads of scenery that were shipped west from Chicago some days ago. Yesterday, word was received that the drop curtain and scenery had been located and would arrive from Denver not later than tomorrow morning, all of which lifts a great load from the mind of manager J. F. Bistes” (16 Dec. 1905, page 4). Misplacing two carloads of Sosman & Landis scenery must have been a nightmare scenario on the studio’s end too. The grand opening was December 25, and it still had to be installed at the venue. On Monday, December 17, two carloads of scenery and a drop curtain were unloaded and placed into position (The Salt Lake Telegram, 17 Dec. 1905, page 26).

The building, located on State and Olive Streets, was a three-story brick structure, reportedly costing $80,000 (Salt Lake Telegram, 30 Nov. 1905, page 9). The design by architect C. M. Neuhausen was advertised as “Modern in Construction” (The Salt Lake Telegram, 5 Dec. 1905, page 5). Excavation commenced during April and the building was ready for some interior work by September. The general color of the interior was green, white and gold with French plush hangings for the loges and draperies of rich red, decorated with gold arabesque designs. The seating capacity was 1300 with 705 seats on the first floor and 610 in the balcony, besides the seating in the boxes. There were hardwood opera chairs in the balcony and red leather “recliners” for the parquet levels. The seven exits were constructed so that the slightest pressure would open them, allowing the theater to be emptied in two minutes during an emergency. Amenities included “an airy nursery where white-capped maids would attend to children” on the second floor.

Arrangements were made with the Utah Light & Railway company to supply the lighting and such “motive power” for the installation of modern electrical effects. There were 1500 incandescent bulbs for the auditorium. The stage measured thirty feet in depth with eighty feet between the sidewalls. There was fifty-five feet from the stage floor to the rigging loft.

The newspaper reported, “The Orpheum Circuit company, through its general manager, Martin Beck, will direct the enterprise, the success of which seems assured by an affiliation with the most influential vaudeville interests in the West. There has been secured the booking co-operation of the Western Vaudeville Association, in whose Chicago offices contracts for all the big stars are made for the Orpheum circuit and other associate theaters. Salt Lake is thus assured equal advantages with theaters in many of the large Western cities from Chicago to San Francisco, to which this booking association sends the cream of the world’s best vaudeville talent. The importance of this booking alliance may be better appreciated when it is understood that it will give Salt Lake City the attractions that are supplied to the following important theaters: The Chicago opera-house, the Olympic, the Haymarket and the million-dollar Majestic theater (now building), all of Chicago; Columbia, St. Louis; Grand opera-house, Indianapolis; Columbia, Cincinnati; Hopkins, Louisville; Hopkins, Memphis; Orpheum, San Francisco; Orpheum, New Orleans; Orpheum, Los Angeles; Orpheum, Denver; Orpheum, Minneapolis; Orpheum, Kansas City; Orpheum, St. Paul; and the Orpheum, Omaha.”

The Orpheum Circuit was a chain of vaudeville and movie theaters. It was founded in 1886 and operated through 1927, when it merged with the Keith-Albee theater chain, ultimately becoming part of the Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) corporation. Salt Lake was the smallest city on the Orpheum Circuit in 1905.

Of the scenery for the old 1905 Salt Lake Orpheum, the “Salt Lake Telegram” noted, “The management made an effort to have these painted in this city, but under the time limit imposed that was impossible (The Salt Lake Telegram 14 Dec 1905, page 5). By 1912, a new Orpheum was already under construction and the “Salt Lake Telegram” reported “New Scenery for Orpheum Painted Here” (14 August, 1912, page 5). The article contended, “heretofore every new theatre with the exceptions of the old Salt Lake, has imported its scenery drop curtain and sets from one of the big New York or Chicago houses which make a specialty of equipping new theatres. The new Orpheum, now under construction on West Second South Street will have all of its scenery built and painted here.” Charles Wallace, a scenic artist employed by the Orpheum Circuit, arrived from Los Angeles to paint the scenery for the new theater in 1912. The article described, “Wallace took off his coat, his diamond pin in his pocket-book and climbed into his overalls and then up the paint frame. He is now throwing color on several sets, with the result that when the vaudeville season opens Sunday, a new outfit of scenery will greet the eyes of the first nighters. Another feature is that owning to the hard knocks scenery receives in vaudeville special linen has been shipped in from Syracuse, N. Y. The average theatre considers Indian Head calico good enough for scenery, but the Orpheum proposes to have the best. While Mr. Wallace and his assistants are “throwing color” the entire Orpheum force is housecleaning and getting the theatre ready for the opening.”

The new 1912 Orpheum was managed by the Salt Lake Orpheum Realty company (The Salt Lake Tribune 4 April 1912, page 20). The company selected the site where the Salt Lake Hardware Company once stood for their new building. They then granted a twenty-year lease to the newly formed Utah Orpheum Company, incorporated in California only a few days before the Salt Lake Orpheum Realty company was organized. The Utah Orpheum Company included some incorporators who also controlled the Salt Lake Orpheum Realty company; a win-win situation. It was the Utah Orpheum Company who would furnish the attractions while the Salt Lake Orpheum Realty company provided the space. At this same time, a merger was planned for the State Street Orpheum (1905), controlled by the Orpheus Vaudeville company, and the Utah Orpheum Company. In other words, the newer Utah Orpheum Company would absorb the older Orpheus Vaudeville company.

The 1905 Orpheum later became the Lyric Theatre in Salt Lake City after the new Orpheum was built in 1912.

The architect, contracted to provide the new drawings for the proposed building was Mr. Landsberg. The older 1905 Orpheum building eventually became a movie theatre. The auditorium and main lobby were refurbished several times over the decades, each time the venue changed hands in fact. Except for the stage, little remained of the original building as a series of renovations altered the auditorium. The theater was first converted to show movies in 1918. Over the years, the theater was known by other names, including Loew’s Casino Theater (1920), Wilkes Theater, Roxey Theater, Salt Lake Theater, and Lyric Theater (1947). In 1971 the Lyric closed when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints bought the theatre. They restored the building for church plays, renaming it the Promised Valley Playhouse. By 1996, however, the theater closed due to structural problems. In 2000, the Church replaced the playhouse by building a new 911-seat theater as part of its new Conference Center. The final owners of the building, Zions Securities, eventually demolished the auditorium in 2003 to build a 400-car parking garage. The facade and lobby are the only elements that remain of the original building.

The renovated 1905 Orpheum Theatre after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints bought the building and renamed it the Promised Valley Playhouse.

Only the facade and lobby is left of the original 1905 Orpheum Theatre in Salt Lake City. The remainder of the building was demolished to create a 400-car parking garage.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 503 – Thomas G. Moses and Henry C. Tryon

Part 503: Thomas G. Moses and Henry C. Tryon

In 1905, Thomas G. Moses recorded that he painted a Grand Canyon curtain for Duluth and used a print of Thomas Moran for the source. Although the Santa Fe Railroad had offered transportation to the Grand Canyon to complete sketches on site, Moses did not have the time to spare.

As I have previously discussed, it was the works of Thomas Moran and some of his contemporaries who influenced the painted aesthetic for popular entertainment on the stage and scenic illusion, if not by their own artworks, then by the works of their students. Moses’ connection to Moran was not simply through his reverence for the artist, but also Henry C. Tryon, a student of Moran’s and fellow scenic artist. Tryon was another Sosman & Landis artist who worked alongside Moses and went on sketching trips with him during the 1880s. Tryon was brought on at Sosman & Landis as Lem Graham’s replacement, after Graham left for Kansas City to start his own scenic studio – Kanas City Scenic Co. Moses wrote: “[Tryon] enthused Young and I more than anyone ever had. He was a pupil of Thos. Moran and James and William Hart and was very clever, but awfully eccentric.”

Moses wrote about his sketching trip to West Virginia in 1885 with Tryon, publishing a series of articles for the Palette & Chisel newsletter where Moses described his journey and traveling companions, especially the “eccentric” Henry C. Tryon. In one section, he described how Tryon became the student of Thomas Moran (1837-1926). In 1885, Moses wrote, “I certainly enjoyed talking on any subject with Tryon. He was very strong on politics, which did not particularly interest me. He was very interesting when it came to anything on art. He had been a pupil of Thomas Moran. Tryon told this story: He had bothered Moran for some time trying to induce Moran to take him on as a pupil. Moran was too much of a gentleman to throw Tryon out of his studio, so he finally took an old canvas, slapped on a lot of color with a palette knife, handed it to Tryon and said: “Take that home, make a picture out of the accidentals and bring it back in a week.” Moran felt that Tryon would throw the canvas away and not come back. The week-end found Tryon back and Moran was so well pleased with the result that he took Tryon on as a pupil, which was very beneficial to Tryon who followed Moran’s style of work even into his scenic painting, as well as his oil. He enjoyed telling this story; he surely must have made a good picture of Moran’s accidentals.” Tryon also worked as a scenic artist at McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago, painting alongside Lou Malmsha, one of the great scenic artists of Chicago during the late-nineteenth century.

As I was looking for information pertaining to the drop curtain that Moses’ painted in Duluth, I encountered the Grand Canyon drop curtain that Walter W. Burridge painted for the Grand Opera House in Chicago during 1902. I also encountered another reference to Henry C. Tryon and a description of his character in a book that was recently written by Donna L. Poulton. In “Reuben Kirkham, Pioneer Artist” Poulton writes about Kirkham’s work with Alfred Lambourne (1850-1926). They painted stage scenery in Salt Lake City at the Lehi Music Hall in 1871. In Lambourne’s reminiscences about the theater, he mentions Henry C. Tryon as his final mentor. Poulton includes Lambourne’s description of Henry C. Tryon, “that erratic genius, that Bohemian of Bohemians.” Lambourne recorded, “…I worked with Tryon about seven weeks. Not on the paint gallery of the Salt Lake theatre, but in one of our southern towns, where we had taken a contract, jointly, for furnishing a set of stock scenery. Those seven weeks were among the most exciting, and from the art standpoint, most profitable of my life. Tryon arrived in Salt Lake City, after a long and successful season of scene-painting in Chicago, and at the Tabor Grand, in Denver. Who, that knew the man, could ever forget that walk, that shock of unkempt red hair, that shrewd ingratiating smile and fun, the enthusiasm, or flash of anger in those steel gray Irish eyes. How distinctly I remember the low suppressed tones of his voice and the sparkle in the same eyes, as he once confronted me and uttered these words: “I have never yet met a man whose combativeness I could not overcome with my own.” However that may have been, we became fast friends and without surrender on either side.”

Henry C. Tryon wrote a tribute to his good friend and fellow scenic artist, Louis Malmsha (1863-1882). Tryon worked with Malmsha at Wood’s Theatre in Cincinnati and later with him at McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago. In 1882, Tryon published a tribute to Malmsha heralding him as “the greatest scenic painter in the world.” It appeared in the “Salt Lake City Herald” on October 22, 1882. (see past installment #123). Of Malmsha, he wrote, “As an humble follower, ardent admirer, friend, and confrere of this dead artist I felt it my duty to render tribute and homage to his transcendent genius. He was “the best in the profession.” Every artist who has seen his work has without qualification given him this position as a matter of simple fact. I have seen samples from the hands of the best scenic artists in England, France, and Italy, and from what I have seen and learned. I am convinced that Mr. Malmsha was the greatest scenic painter in the world.” This allows us to trace a scenic art lineage of respect and admiration.

Tryon was born in Chicago in 1847. At the age of seventeen, he enlisted in the army in a regiment attached to the Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, serving until the close of the Civil War. He later became a student at the Pennsylvania Academy of Design, intending to become a landscape painter, studying with both Thomas Moran (1837-1926) and William M. Hart (1823-1894). Tryon worked with Malmsha at Wood’s Theatre in Cincinnati and later with him at McVicker’s Theatre in Chicago. In the early 1880s. Tryon had moved to Salt Lake City where he became active as a scenic artist, well known for his drop curtain at the Salt Lake Theatre entitled, “The Return of a Victorius Fleet.” He also produced 25 sets of scenery for the Salt Lake Theatre.

In 1883, the “Salt Lake Daily” published, “The improvements which have been in progress at the Salt Lake Theatre during the past nine or ten months, under the direction of Henry C. Tryon, the noted scenic artist, have attracted a great deal of attention from theatrical men generally” (July 22, 1883, Vol. XIV, No. 41). The author of the article then asked Mr. Mayer, “By the way, what do you think of Tryon as an artist?” Mayer’s response, “Tryon? We he has a national reputation. The fact that he is engaged to paint the scenes is a guarantee that the scenes outfit will be on par with any theatre in the United States. He is none of your fellows who depend on village theatre for a livelihood; his services are in demand all the time and the only thing that beats my penetration is that so expensive an artist could be obtained to come to Salt Lake. The scenes already painted are the equal of anything in stock in the country.”

And yes, Tryon was a Scottish Rite Mason too. For his Masonic affiliation, see past installments #199-201.

To be continued…