Tibbits Opera House and Branch District Library will host “A History and Exploration of the Henry Clay Lewis Art Collection” on Friday, January 8 at 5:30pm in the Tibbits Art Gallery.
Holbrook Heritage Room archivist Brittany Gemmill will present the history of Henry Clay Lewis and the Lewis Art Gallery. In addition to the presentation, photographs, the original 1875 gallery catalogue and some of the paintings will be on display. A reception will be held after the presentation to answer questions and have a closer look at part of the Lewis Art Collection that is housed at Tibbits Opera House.
Henry Clay Lewis was a businessman from Coldwater. In 1869, what is now the Coldwater Masonic Temple was built as an art gallery to house over 1,000 of Lewis’ pieces. The Henry Clay Lewis Art Collection was once considered the largest and best gallery west of New York. When Lewis died, he willed his collection to the City of Coldwater but they were not interested in assuming ownership. The pieces were disbursed, and while some of the most expensive ones are housed in areas like the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C., Tibbits and the Coldwater Branch of the Branch District Library were fortunate to get several pieces as well. A share of the collection at Tibbits is on permanent loan from the University of Michigan art collection.
This event is free and open to the public. The Tibbits Art Gallery is located in the lower level of the theatre at 14 S. Hanchett Street, Coldwater, Michigan. For more information, visit Tibbits.org, email info@tibbits.org, or call 517-278-6029 during business hours.
