Lot 11
Thomas Gibbs Moses
Illinois, California, (1856 - 1934)
Landscape near Oakland Calif, 1930
oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower right. Signed, titled and dated verso.
In need of restoration.
From the collection of Edward P. Bentley, Art Researcher and Historian, Greenville, Michigan.
Loss and stain line along left edge.
Biography from the Archives of askART: The following is from Wendy Waszut-Barrett who took her information from the artist's diary titled "My Diary by Thomas Gibbs Moses".
Thomas Gibbs Moses was born in Liverpool, England, July 21, 1856. His father was Lucius M. Moses, who was born in Great Falls, New Hampshire, August 21, 1822. His mother, Mary Wingate Titcomb was born in Wells Beach, Maine, May 14, 1825. They were married on August 14, 1849.
His father was a sea captain, which is why Moses was born in England. However, his parents neglected to register their son's birth in England, an omission that caused great embarrassment throughout his life. Moses came from a family of seven children (Kate, Lucius, Thomas, Lucia, Frank, Illie and Little Kate) The elder Kate had died at sea and the youngest Kate was named after her.
In 1859, the Moses family moved West to Southern California after his father sold out his interests in the shipping company. His father started a tannery business. When his mother died, Illie and Lucia went back East to live with the aunt. The remaining four children stayed with their father. Thomas attributes his "art bug" from his mother and prized her sketch book.
Moses' artistic career began during April, 1873. He was an assistant to Mr. L. Malmasha, the head designer at P.M. Almini Company. During his entire artistic career, Moses remained a scenic artist for the theatre. His work also appeared in residential homes, churches, amusement parks, Masonic temples, and expositions.
He married his sweetheart Ella in 1877. Sosman and Landis, a scenic studio in Chicago, Illinois, is the descendant of his original company. Eventually, Moses became the president of the company. He worked "and and off" for this business from 1880-1931, when he sold the company to a Mr. Lemle.
Moses also had several of his own companies between working for Sosman and Landis. Some of them include Moses and Hamilton - Burridge, Moses and Louderback, and the New York Studios that were extensions of Sosman and Landis.
Moses also spent several years working in New York including Broadway Theatres and Coney Island (1899-1904). In every town, he wished to become known for his fine art, and continued to join a series of artistic organization: The Palette and Chisel Club, the Salmagundi Club, the Chicago Art Society, the California Art Club and others.
His greatest work, however, was created in Masonic Temples across the Midwest and West. He constantly travelled creating hundreds of drops for Masonic theatres where each Masonic degree in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry could be staged as a theatrical production.
Artists that he worked with include, Lou Graham, Walter Burridge, Frank C. Bromely, John Young, Howard Tuttle, Walter Louderback, Ed Loitz, Joe Hart, William and Charlie Minor, Harry Vincent, Port McGreer, Harry Naile, and many others too numerous to mention. He continued to actively paint scenery until 1932. He eventually joined Freemasonry after painting many of the temples.
Moses died in 1934.
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Note from Wendy Waszut-Barrett:
I have studied Thomas Moses and his contemporaries in the theatre since 1987. Currently, I restore extant backdrops with the same dry pigment/ animal glue paint system that Moses used. I am completing my doctorate at the University of Minnesota in Theatre. In addition to art restoration, my topic is "Staging the Scottish Rite: Designing for Masonic Theatre."
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Dimensions:
- 20" x 30", 21 1/2" x 34 1/2" (frame) Artist Name:
- Thomas Gibbs Moses Medium:
- oil on canvas
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