Abstract
Bullard explores how Brooklyn’s signature renaissance societies adjusted to the social, political, and financial pressures plaguing urban centers in the Gilded Age. The Art Association flourished by negotiating egalitarian and elitist pressures. Its free public exhibitions satisfied the former, its exclusive opening receptions, the latter. The Academy of Music continued as Brooklyn’s cultural town hall following the success of the Sanitary Fair. It hosted a variety of entertainments and weathered debates over the “negro question” and whether to allow Frederick Douglass to lecture there. The Philharmonic Society, however, experienced hard times as audiences dwindled, tastes changed, and musicians and management fell into discord over seating, pricing, and programming. Ticket speculators brought scandal. The Philharmonic stumbled but survived with innovative programming and new conductor Theodore Thomas.
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Notes
- 1.
The Mercantile Library was in the same situation, lacking still $123,000 before construction of its building across from The Academy of Music could begin, ibid., 16 April 1866, 2.
- 2.
BMA, BAA Minutes, 26 April 1869.
- 3.
Ibid., Exhibition Lists, 1867 Spring Exhibition, n. 124 “Sporting at Nahant”; 1867 Fall Exhibition, n. 172 “Sunrise near Salem harbor”; 1868 Spring Exhibition, n. 103 “Sunset, Point of Rocks, Swampscott; and 1869 Spring Exhibition, n. 1 “Sunset on the Hudson near West Point.”
- 4.
BMA, BAA Exhibition Lists, 1869 Spring Exhibition, n. 196.
- 5.
In the 1870s, works by students at the Packer and Polytechnic schools were included, e.g. in the Winter Exhibition of 1873.
- 6.
BE, 22 March 1865, 2; 21 December 1865, 2. Whether this is the same painting as Gignoux’s Sunrise in the Alps, currently in a private collection, remains unclear.
- 7.
“His genius was so versatile that you might almost judge all the fine arts to be his…thus showing by example that men can do anything with themselves if they will,” translated from the Italian as “Self-portrait of a Universal Man,” in James Ross and Mary Martin McLaughlin, The Portable Renaissance Reader (New York, NY: Viking Press, 1953), 480–92.
- 8.
According to DeGrauw, the last exhibition had cost $1,500 and only six hundred persons had attended out of a Brooklyn population of over 300,000, BE, 14 April 1865, 2.
- 9.
Ibid., 14 April 1865, 2.
- 10.
Ibid.
- 11.
Ibid., 14 November 1865, 2.
- 12.
Ibid., in a separate article. Politely, the Eagle did not name the member who resigned, but the minutes of the January 1866 board meeting indicate that Mr. E. G. Lowber had retired from the board and been replaced by Henry Sanger, another among Brooklyn’s group of active patrons, ibid., 13 January 1866, 2. Lowber, however, seems to have remained engaged in Brooklyn cultural affairs, notably with the opera.
- 13.
Ibid., 13 January 1866, 2; 22 January 1866, 2; 30 January 1866, 2.
- 14.
Ibid., 22 January 1866, 2.
- 15.
Ibid., 19 November 1866, 2.
- 16.
Ibid., 12 January 1867, 2. Profit for the year amounted to over $8,600.
- 17.
Ibid., 29 March 1867, 2.
- 18.
Ibid., 30 March 1867, 2. The Eagle took such delight in reporting Wyman’s sleight of hand, that it reprinted the article two weeks later, 15 April.
- 19.
Ibid., 6 May 1867, 2.
- 20.
Ibid., 15 January 1870, 2. Receipts from opera and drama each brought in $4,800; concerts $4,200; lectures $1,900; exhibitions $2,500; meetings including Temperance and women’s rights gatherings, $2,400.
- 21.
Ibid., BE, 14 January 1870, 2.
- 22.
NYT, 22 January 1866, 4.
- 23.
BE, 4 December 1866, 2. The Harmonic Society and Oratorio Society joined forces.
- 24.
Ibid., 7 January 1869, 2; The Independent…Devoted to the Consideration of Politics, Social and Economic:…, 14 April 1870, 22: 1115 (via APS Online).
- 25.
BE, 19 January 1865, 2.
- 26.
Ibid., 16 May 1865, 2.
- 27.
Ibid., 2 February 1865, 2. Upon Wyman’s recommendation, and approved by the gathering, Edward Lowber, who had done so much to help with the opera season was permitted first pick of seats, for which he selected four of the best balcony seats. Max Maretzek, manager of the Italian Opera Company, allowed an additional three seats be allotted to the press.
- 28.
Ibid., 21 September 1865, 2; also BMA, BPS Minutes, 5 September 1865, 212–14.
- 29.
BE, 22 January 1866, 2. Meanwhile, the Italian Opera Company held another lottery for reserved seating in its new season, this time without incident. Before the drawing commenced, Wyman recommend that John DeGrauw receive first pick in recognition of all the effort he had contributed, which suggestion was greeted with hearty applause.
- 30.
NYT, 22 January 1866, 4; BE, 22 January 1866, 2.
- 31.
Ibid.
- 32.
Ibid. Well-known Richard Hoffman was the pianist.
- 33.
Ibid., 5 March 1866, 2.
- 34.
Ibid., 16 April 1866, 2.
- 35.
NYT, 12 July 1866, 5.
- 36.
E.g. BE, 30 March 1865, 2; 5 March 1866, 2.
- 37.
Ibid., 22 May 1866, 2.
- 38.
NYT, 14 July 1866, 5.
- 39.
Ibid. He replaced Carl Bergmann on the podium.
- 40.
BE, 4 October 1866, 2.
- 41.
Ibid., 29 September 1866, 2.
- 42.
Ibid., 4 October 1866, 2.
- 43.
Ibid., 10 December 1866, 2.
- 44.
Ibid., 15 April 1867, 2.
- 45.
Ibid.
- 46.
Ibid., 23 April 1867, 2.
- 47.
Ibid.
- 48.
Ibid. In addition, he argued that if a select number of gentlemen would step forward and each guarantee maybe ten subscriptions, the Society would have some secure operating revenue in advance. Isaac Frothingham, another long-time board member, Unitarian, and president of the Nassau Bank, suggested cutting the number of concerts and preparatory rehearsals. Fellow Unitarian Edwin Plimpton, New York carpet merchant, favored returning to the democratic principle, “Low prices, and a crowd.”
- 49.
Ibid.
- 50.
Ibid.
- 51.
Ibid.
- 52.
Ibid., 31 July 1867, 3.
- 53.
See his obituary, NYT, 15 November 1891, 2.
- 54.
BE, 8 October 1867, 2; 7 Nov 1867, 2.
- 55.
Ibid., November 1867, 2.
- 56.
Ibid., 11 October 1867, 2.
- 57.
Ibid., 7 November 1867, 2; 11 November 1867, 2. Easily recognizable for his portly presence and flamboyant waistcoats, Jullien had promoted popular promenade concerts in England. He and later Thomas were among the first nineteenth-century celebrity conductors to achieve star status.
- 58.
Ibid., 11 November 1867, 2; 26 November 1867, 2.
- 59.
Ibid., 20 March 1868, 2; 31 March, 2. The sponsors included Luther Wyman, E. S. Mills, J. DeGrauw, and R. R. Raymond. Another sponsor, Henry R. Pierson, president of the City Railroad Company, agreed with Maretzek that the “democratic principle of charging one price” for all seats was preferable. The organizers reached a compromise to sell all reserved seats at $2, with actual seat selections to be subsequently auctioned. To increase receipts, an appeal went out to stockholders to relinquish their right to free admission and instead purchase tickets for the performance.
- 60.
Ibid., 6 April 1868, 2.
- 61.
Ibid.
- 62.
Ibid., 3 June 1868, 3.
- 63.
Ibid.
- 64.
Ibid., 10 July 1868, 2. The first setback came with the death of Dr. A. Cooke Hull, long-time friend, energetic officer of the Society, and superb supporter of any cause that bettered his beloved Brooklyn. The memorial statement gave Hull high praise for his contributions and usefulness, zeal, good work, sympathy, and support for any plan to elevate and improve fellow citizens; he was someone who left behind a bright example of public spirit and philanthropy. Words to this effect were also entered into the minutes of the Philharmonic Society, BMA, BPS minutes, 6 July 1868, 281.
- 65.
BE, 23 September 1868, 3. They needed at least five hundred advance subscriptions before they could organize a concert season. The previous year a similar direct appeal had brought in the requisite number.
- 66.
Ibid.
- 67.
BMA, BPS minutes, 13 October 1868, 285–87. Maurice Edward in How Music Grew in Brooklyn: A Biography of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006), 18 speculated that part of the reason may have been Theodore Thomas’ absence on tour, but the BPS Minutes do not support that interpretation.
- 68.
BE, 24 October 1868, 2.
- 69.
Ibid., 8 February 1869, 2.
- 70.
BMA, BPS Minutes, 20 April 1869, 288. At the annual members’ meeting in May, Wyman announced their resolve to hold a season of five concerts and fifteen rehearsals for the price of eight dollars, with Carl Bergmann directing. He also claimed to have already procured fifty subscriptions, and he would pledge himself personally for fifty more, ibid., 289–92; BE, 5 May 1869, 2. Strengthened by the infusion of some new members on its board, the Society remained hopeful. Wyman redoubled his personal efforts and worked with the conductor to attract the most accomplished artists, especially soloists from Europe, and they agreed on a sixty-person orchestra, ibid., 15 January 1870, 2.
- 71.
BMA, BPS Minutes, 7 September 1869, 293–95; BE, 11 September 1869, 4.
- 72.
BMA, BPS Minutes, 21 September 1869, 296–97. Copious thanks went to Luther Wyman their “worthy President for his unwearied efforts on behalf of the society. The labour has mainly fallen upon his shoulders and has been cheerfully and conscientiously performed.”
- 73.
- 74.
BE, 4 November 1869, 2.
- 75.
Ibid., 25 May 1870, 4.
- 76.
The Independent, 14 April 1870, 22, 1115.
- 77.
BE, 25 May 1870, 4.
- 78.
“The Brooklyn public claims high consideration for its patronage of art. Its musical pretensions are specially positive,” ibid., 15 September 1870, 2.
- 79.
Ibid., 17 November 1870, 2.
- 80.
Carlo Lefranc, ibid., 9 December 1870, 3.
- 81.
William Poole, ibid., 16 May 1871, 2.
- 82.
He continued, “and how important it is to the cause of musical culture and refinement, particularly among our young people, that they [Brooklynites] should give us a generous and encouraging support,” ibid.
- 83.
It was not just the Philharmonic, for even the summer concerts organized and financed out of pocket by bandleader Luciano Conterno at the Rink on Clermont Avenue had been losing money for two years; ibid., 19 August 1871, 2. To help Mr. Conterno, Luther Wyman and other musically inclined patrons organized a benefit concert for him; ibid., 5 September 1873, 1. Simon Gunn noticed a similar decline in interest in classical music in provincial England toward the end of the nineteenth century, The public culture of the Victorian middle class: ritual and authority and the English industrial city, 1840–1914, (Manchester; New York, NY: Manchester University Press, 2000), 153–56.
- 84.
Ibid., 29 September 1871, 2. At its September 30 meeting, the board recommended cancelling the season for lack of funds, BMA, BPS Minutes, 340.
- 85.
BE, 15 September 1871, 4.
- 86.
Ibid.
- 87.
BMA, BPS Minutes, 26 September 1871, 341–44.
- 88.
Wyman reviewed the history of the Society, its rise, progress and decline and showed how over the last five years, its expenses had steadily increased and revenues decreased. Currently the directors had succeeded in getting only five hundred actual subscriptions and two hundred pledges, whereas 1,000 were needed to go forward, BE, 5 October 1871, 2.
- 89.
Ibid., 9 October 1871, 4.
- 90.
Ibid., 10 October 1871, 7.
- 91.
Ibid., 25 January 1872, 2; 13 February 1872, 11.
- 92.
See above.
- 93.
BE, 13 February 1872, 11. Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate a copy of the pamphlet. The Eagle quoted from it extensively, but oddly the text was not included in the surviving minutes of the Philharmonic Society. An article about Wyman in the 1 June 1875 issue of The Aldine reproduced an engraved likeness of Wyman, quite different in pose from Matthew Wilson’s oil portrait, The Aldine, The Art Journal of America, 1 June 1875: 8.18, 359.
- 94.
Wyman was accompanied by his wife and youngest daughter Ida, an aspiring pianist. Ida studied at the Brooklyn Musical Academy and in 1872 performed in public in at least two concerts, one a “Grand concert” at Henry Ward Beecher’s Plymouth Church and again in a concert given at the Twelfth Street Reformed Church, BE 6 February 1872; 1 May 1872, 2. She married Henry Loomis Nelson, later editor of Harper’s Weekly, 14 October 1873, ibid., 15 October 1873, 3; 16 October 1873, 4; NYT, 23 December 1894, 21.
- 95.
BE, 14 June 1872, 4.
- 96.
BE, 21 May 1872, 3.
- 97.
BMA, BPS Minutes, 17 September 1872, 355.
- 98.
Ideas such as how to improve the “wretched brass section” and perhaps introduce a piccolo player, BE, 31 July 1872, 4.
- 99.
Ibid., 25 October 1872, 3.
- 100.
It began, “Everybody who knows the Philharmonic knows Mr. Wyman, at least by sight and voice…[and] how much he has done to assure its prosperity. With a lifelong inclination musicward, he has performed good service in the making of music. In town and country choirs he knew how to draw the facile bow of the resonant viol, and to assume intelligent vocal leadership in the songs of the sanctuary. His most valuable musical activity…. [has been] in measure for the promotion of popular musical taste. He has given time, labor, patience, and money to all sorts of musical societies, choral, harmonic and Philharmonic. His “noblest offspring,” like Time’s “is his last”—the Philharmonic. He is its first and only President,” ibid., 29 November 1872, 3.
- 101.
- 102.
Drygoods merchant Lyman Burnham hosted, BE, 20 May 1873, 4.
- 103.
Ibid., 22 May 1873, 2.
- 104.
“One thing is certain: unless the society’s President does wake up to the musical needs of the present, its mission will not be accomplished,” ibid.
- 105.
Ibid., 23 May 1873, 2, 4; 26 May 1873, 2.
- 106.
One writer pointed out that Thomas traveled with his orchestra in the winter and hiring him again would cost more than Brooklynites seemed willing to pay, ibid., 23 May 1873, 2; 26 May 1873, 2.
- 107.
At the annual members’ meeting in May 1873, Wyman felt like he had to address the criticisms by those letter writers, especially the calls for his resignation. He fully concurred that having had the “honor and pleasure of being the President of the organization since its beginning…it struck him that the time had now come when there ought to be a change.” But another member rejoined that there was not “anybody in the organization that favored anybody else for that position other than Luther B. Wyman [applause], and if he would not take the office willingly, then it should be forced upon him.” The board also negotiated a package deal with the young celebrity conductor for $8,000, inclusive of conductor, orchestra, and instrumental soloists for the upcoming season, ibid., 27 May 1873, 2; BMA, BPS Minutes, 26 May 1873, 365.
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Bullard, M.M. (2017). Impact on the Arts. In: Brooklyn’s Renaissance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50176-5_9
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