| Lou Wall Moore | |
| Other Names: | Princess Lou, Lou Wall-Moore |
| Birth Name: | Lula Belle Wall |
| Birth Place: | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Death Date: | March 13, 1924 |
| Death Place: | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Burial Place: | Bellefontaine Cemetery, St Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Education: | Lexington Baptist Female College |
| Alma Mater: | School of the Art Institute of Chicago |
| Occupation: | Sculptor, stage actress, dancer, costume designer, socialite |
| Spouse: | Albert "Bert" Wasson Moore (m. 1880–1915; death) |
Lou Wall Moore (née Lula Belle Wall; –1924) nicknamed "Princess Lou", was an American sculptor, stage actress, costume designer, dancer, and socialite from Chicago.[1] [2] [3] She was known for early modern dance interpretations of ancient Greek dance, as well as appearing in Grecian plays, and for portraying Salome.[4] [5] Her sculptures were primarily busts, done in an ancient Greek style.
Lou Wall Moore was born in St. Louis, Missouri,[6] to parents Frances Elizabeth (née Calvert) and Captain Nicholas Wall. Her father was a riverboat captain and a noted steam boatsmen.[7] Her family had moved to Montana Territory around the time she was born, and they remained there until 1876.
Moore attended the Lexington Baptist Female College (around 1878; now part of Wentworth Military Academy and College) in Lexington, Missouri.[8] She continued her education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (around 1901), and studied sculpture under Lorado Taft.[9]
Moore was particularly focused on creating bust portraits, statuettes, and reliefs. She often sculpted in a Greek-style. Some of her notable bust sculptures included noted pianist, Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler; professor at Northwestern University, James Taft Hatfield; cellist, Paul Kefer; Chauncey Blair's daughters; civil engineer, Ralph Modjeski's son; and stage performer, Valeria Alicia English.
In 1903, Moore served as the vice president of the Art Students League of Chicago.[10] She won an award at the Saint Louis Exposition for her sculpture.
In 1910, Moore was invited to dance in the White House before President Theodore Roosevelt.[11] Around June 1910, Moore had joined the Sylvan Players, and prior to that she had danced with the Ben Greet Players.[12]
In June to July 1910, she appeared wearing in tights in a performance of "Les Romanesque" in Bloomington, Illinois; it made front page news in the Chicago Tribune, and caused a "religious war" within the Bloomington community when the Deacon of the Methodist church spoke against her performance.[13] [14]
Moore appeared in the cast of many productions at the Chicago Little Theatre, many of which were Grecian plays.[15] She designed the costumes for The Trojan Women in 1913 held at the Chicago Little Theatre.[16]
She was a co-founder alongside poet Maxwell Bodenheim of “The Shop,” a bohemian social club in Chicago.[17]
For many years she lived at 5476 Ridgewood Court in Chicago, Illinois. She was married to Albert Wasson Moore in 1880; the marriage ended when he died on February 21, 1915.[18]
She died after battling pneumonia on March 13, 1924, in her home on Ridgewood Court, she was around age 60. She is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.