M, b. 4 August 1833, d. 13 December 1894
Lewis Thomas Ives
Lewis was born on Sunday, 4 August 1833 at Rochester, Monroe County, New York. He was the son of Eardlay Ives who was born in England. Lewis married
Margaret Wright Leggett, daughter of
Augustus Wright Leggett and
Eliza Seaman, on 26 June 1860 in Detroit. Lewis was renowned portrait artist and had received the commission to paint a protrait of President Glover Cleveland. He died before he was able to do the work and his son Percival was awarded the commission. Lewis also painted a portrait of Dr. Valentine Seaman from a miniture. This portrait, now considered a treasure, is displayed in the board colnference room in Nes York City Hospital. He was also a lawyer. 6 July 1870, Lewis listed on the U.S. Federal Census in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan. Enumerated in this household were Lewis T. Ives [35 England], Minnie [26 New York], Augustus [9 Michigan], Percival [6 Michigan], Valentine [2 mos. Michigan], & Lewis [2 mos. Michigan], Anna Gallager [23 Canada].
1 15 June 1880, Lewis listed on the U.S. Federal Census in Detroit. Enumerated in this household were Corydon C. Randall [39 Canada], his wife: Anna S. [32 New York], childrenb: Lida S. [11 Michigan], Huntley B. [5 Michigan], Ferris S. [3 Michigan]. Lewis T. Ives [46 New York][border-artist], Lewis' wife, Margaret [36 New York], Augustus Ives [19 Michigan], Percival S. Ives [16 Michigan], Valentine S. Ives [9 Michigan], & servants: Bertha Neuman [20 Michigan] & Flora McDermitt [22 Scotland]. Corydon was a photographer.
2 Lewis departed this life on Thursday, 13 December 1894 in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.
Obituary: In the death of Lewis T. Ives, Detroit has lost one of her nobelist citizens. He was a man of superior intellectualty, grand intellegence, and sound judgement; an artist of great industry and much more than ordinary talent; a careful, conscientious, pain staking man in every thing he undertook, and withal was possesses of that kindness of heart and affability of manner which stamped him the inborn gentleman.l As a trustee of that promising public instution the Detroit Museum of Art, no one has done more to mold it and give it the impression of success and usefulness than Lewis T. Ives, certainly no one has given to it gratuously more of valuable time. As a painter, his modesty kept him from undertaking the work he was csapable of and which would have given him a substancial reputation. While perhaps not to be compared with his great idols, Tinias and Valesquez. His Detroit friends and patrons will never be convinced he was not really a great portrait painter. A few years ago Secator Palmer sat for his portrait to all western artist of the highest reputation, a member of the National yet not one in a hundred the work when finished could have done it better. It is safe to say that every portrait is worth..
He was buried at Detroit in the Elmwood Cemetery.
