Halsey Ives facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Halsey Ives
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Halsey Cooley Ives (1894-94), by Anders Zorn. Oil on canvas, Saint Louis Art Museum.
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| Born | October 27, 1847 Montour Falls, New York, U.S.
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| Died | May 5, 1911 |
| Known for | Founder of the Saint Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts |
Halsey Cooley Ives (born October 27, 1847 – died May 5, 1911) was a very important person in the art world. He was the first director of the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts. This art institution later split into two famous places. These are the Saint Louis Art Museum and the Washington University School of Art. The school also includes the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum. Ives was also a painter, but he is best known for making art popular in Saint Louis, Missouri. He helped organize and manage many art events.
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About Halsey Ives
Early Life and Education
Halsey Ives was born in Montour Falls, New York. At that time, the town was called Havana. He studied art in England at the South Kensington School of Art. He also took classes at other art schools. During the American Civil War, he worked for the U.S. government. His job was to draw plans and maps. This work took him to Nashville, Tennessee.
After the war, he traveled a lot. He went all over the country and even to Mexico. He worked as a designer and decorator. Later, he settled in Saint Louis. There, he joined the teachers at Washington University.
Founding the Art School
In 1874, Ives started a free evening drawing class. This small class was the beginning of something big. It grew into the Saint Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts. This new art center officially opened in 1879. The museum and school became the art department for Washington University.
Ives's work caught the eye of powerful people in the city. With money from Wayman Crow, a new building for the museum was finished in 1881. It was located on what is now Locust Street.
Organizing Major Art Exhibitions
In 1892, Ives was asked to go to Chicago. His job was to organize the art section of the World's Columbian Exposition. This event is also known as the Chicago World's Fair. He was chosen because he was known for being fair-minded. He believed all types of art should be shown equally.
In 1894, the United States Office of Education asked Ives to travel. He was to study art museums and schools in other countries. He started in Giza and traveled across Europe and other parts of the world. He looked at how art developed through history. He also saw how art was connected to the growth of civilizations.
A Public Art Museum for St. Louis
In the 1890s, Ives was a member of the city council. He worked hard to get a law passed. This law allowed an art building to be built in Forest Park. However, there was no money to build it at first.
The plan finally came true with the Louisiana Purchase Exposition. This was the St. Louis World's Fair. Ives was chosen to be the Chief of the Art Department for this fair. This was his sixth time working on such a big exhibition. He worked with the same assistant he had in Chicago. They tried to make the St. Louis fair even better than the Chicago fair and the Paris Exposition Universelle (1900).
When the St. Louis World's Fair ended, the art building was given to the city. It became the permanent home for the art collection Ives managed. Ives then suggested a special art tax. This tax would help pay for the museum's upkeep. The people of Saint Louis voted for the tax by a large amount.
However, the city's money manager refused to give the tax money to the museum. He said the museum was not a city group and could not get tax funds. The Missouri Supreme Court agreed with him in 1908. This led to the museum officially separating from the university in 1909. The museum then became a public place. The university agreed to lend its art collection. Halsey Ives also continued to be the director. The museum was renamed the City Art Museum.
Art should be a matter of every-day enjoyment and use to every normally-constituted man, woman, and child.
– Halsey Cooley Ives, Stevens, Walter B. (ed.) 1915, Halsey Cooley Ives, LL.D. 1847-1911; Founder of the St. Louis School of Fine Arts; First Director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis, Ives Memorial Society, Saint Louis, MO
Halsey Ives passed away in London in 1911. His personal papers are kept at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
