John Lyon Collyer Portrait
- Title:
- John Lyon Collyer Portrait
- Collection:
- Campus Artifacts, Art & Memorabilia
- Creator:
- Stephens, Thomas E. (American portraitist, 1885-1966)
- Donor:
- Stevens, Mr. and Mrs. Robert T.
- Photographer:
- Espinosa de los Monteros, Pamela
- Date:
- 1959
- Acquisition Date:
- 1959
- Location:
- Uris Library, Willard Fiske Room, Cornell University
- Country:
- United States
- ID Number:
- artsdb_1812
- Accession Number:
- W84-20.2
- File Name:
- artsdb_1812.jpg
- Culture:
- American
- Work Type:
- portraits
- Materials/Techniques:
- Oil
- Subject:
- Collyer, John Lyon, b. 1893
Cornell University. Board of Trustees - Image View Type:
- General
- Image View Description:
- Front View
- Description:
- John Lyon Collyer’17 (1893-1979), and Chairman of Cornell University Board of Trustees (1953-1959), was born in Chelsea-on-Hudson, New York. As a student of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Cornell, Collyer was a member of the row team, Chi Phi fraternity and elected Life President and most respected member of his class [“Former Goodrich Chief Long Prominent in Rubber Industry,” The Tuscaloosa News, October 21, 1971, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UA4fAAAAIBAJ&sjid =I5wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1700%2C4758772]. Professionally, Collyer served as Co-managing director of Dunlop Rubber Company, Lt.d, recognized at the time as one of the few Americans to hold a managing director position in a major British Company. Collyer would go on to become CEO and chairman of the board of B.F. Goodrich Co., where he worked for 25 years [Guide to the John Lyon Collyer papers 1907-1976, #3265. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/RMM03265.html]. He is credited with advancing the development and production of synthetic rubber, leading up to and during WWII. Collyer served as Special Director of Rubber Programs of the War Production Board under President Truman. For his service during WWII, Collyer was awarded the Medal of Merit (1946), and Legion of Honor Chevalier (1949) by the French Government [“Former Goodrich Chief Long Prominent in Rubber Industry,” The Tuscaloosa News, October 21, 1971, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UA4fAAAAIBAJ&sjid =I5wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1700%2C4758772]. In addition to his service at Cornell University, Collyer served as a founding trustee member of Ford Foundation Fund for Adult Education and founding member of the Committee for Corporate Support of American Universities. Collyer gave funds for the building and endowment of the Collyer Boathouse [Guide to the John Lyon Collyer papers 1907-1976, #3265. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/RMM03265.html] and the ‘Collyer scholars’ endowment for the College of Engineering [“Collyer Scholars’ Established,” Cornell Chronicle, (Ithaca, NY), January 31, 1980, http://hdl.handle.net/1813/24934].
American artist Thomas Edgar Stephens studied at Cardiff University, Wales, the Heatherley School of Fine Art, London, and the Académie Julian, Paris. Stephens’ notable portrait subjects include United States President Abraham Lincoln, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, and General Douglas MacArthur, as well as other prominent government and military officials. His portraits can be found in the White House, the National Gallery of Art, the U.S. Supreme Court, the Pentagon, Walter Reed Hospital, and the West Point Military Academy. His portraits of President Eisenhower and General MacArthur were featured on the cover of Time magazine [Falk, Peter H., Audrey M. Lewis, Georgia Kuchen, and Veronika Roessler. “Stephens, Thomas E.” 1999. Who was who in American art, 1565-1975: 400 years of artists in America. Madison, CT: Sound View Press]. - Source:
- Falk, Peter H., Audrey M. Lewis, Georgia Kuchen, and Veronika Roessler. “Stephens, Thomas E.” 1999. Who was who in American art, 1565-1975: 400 years of artists in America. Madison, CT: Sound View Press
“Collyer Scholars’ Established, “Cornell Chronicle, (Ithaca, NY), January 31, 1980, http://hdl.handle.net/1813/24934
“Former Goodrich Chief Long Prominent in Rubber Industry,” The Tuscaloosa News, October 21, 1971, http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UA4fAAAAIBAJ&sjid =I5wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1700%2C4758772
Guide to the John Lyon Collyer papers 1907-1976, #3265. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/ead/htmldocs/RMM03265.html - Repository:
- Cornell University
- Format:
- Image
- Rights:
- The content in the Campus Artifacts, Art & Memorabilia Collection is protected by copyright, and the copyright holders are Cornell University Library and the Cornell Association of Professors Emeritus. This collection was created by Cornell University Library in 2010, with funding from a Digital Collections in Arts and Sciences Grant to Howard Howland. Cornell is providing access to the materials for research and personal use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Please contact the Cornell Association of Professors Emeritus at cape@cornell.edu for more information about this collection, or to request permission to use these images.