Ivor Rhys Lewis (1882 – November 1958) was a Canadian artist and business director. Lewis was born in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, but emigrated to Canada as a small boy. He trained as an artist at the

Ontario School of Art Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within do ...

, and was hired in the art department of the

Eaton's The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew ...

department store chain in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. In 1919, he was commissioned by his fellow Eaton's employees to create the noted life-size statue of Timothy Eaton, which was presented to the

Eaton family The Eaton family is a prominent Canadian family of Scottish-Irish Methodist origin. Established in Toronto, the family dynasty began in 1869 when Timothy Eaton (1834–1907) founded Eaton's, which became a national chain of department stores. At ...

in honour of the store's 50th anniversary. Lewis was an accomplished painter, and he was also known for creating the medallions on the Dr. William D. Young Memorial in Toronto's

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

. Along with

C. W. Jefferys Charles William Jefferys (August 25, 1869 – October 8, 1951), also known as C. W. Jefferys, was a Canadian painter, illustrator, author, and teacher, best known as a historical illustrator. Biography Jefferys was born in Rochester, Engl ...

and other artists, Lewis co-founded the Graphic Arts Club (later named the Canadian Society of Graphic Art), which by the 1940s became one of the primary artists' groups in Canada. He was also a noted actor and singer, and actively participated in Toronto's theatre scene. Ivor Lewis was a prominent member of the Eaton's management team, serving as both Supervisor of Publicity and Public Relations and Staff Superintendent. He held the latter position until 1950. He was made a director of the T. Eaton Co. Limited in 1942. Ivor Lewis died in 1958.Ivor Lewis's Staff Superintendent and Publicity Office files
Archives of Ontario. Retrieved on July 19, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Ivor 1882 births 1958 deaths Canadian sculptors Canadian male sculptors Eaton's Artists from Toronto Canadian male stage actors Male actors from Toronto Welsh emigrants to Canada 20th-century sculptors