Adam Lehr (1853-1924)

Known primarily as a still-life and landscape painter, Adam Lehr was born in Cleveland (Cuyahoga County), Ohio, on November 1, 1853. The son of John Lehr, a German-born shoemaker, he worked in his youth for a house painter, then found a more "artistic" job in 1872 with James Chubb, a sign and ornamental painter.

In 1874, De Scott Evans accepted him as a pupil, and a year or two later he began attending Archibald M. Willard's even sketch classes at the Cleveland Art Club. Progressing rapidly under Willard's guidance, he soon left Chubb's employ to decorate steamboats fore Willard's brother, Charles A. Willard. In 1880, with financial assistance from Alexander Gunn, a Cleveland iron merchant, Lehr studied at the Art Students League in New York City, and after his return in 1881 he exhibited regularly with the Art Club, the Brush and Palette Club, the Water Color Society of Cleveland, and , from 1913 to 1923, the Cleveland Society of Artists.

Although by the standards of the day he enjoyed a successful career as a professional artist, he supplemented his income as late as 1898 by painting signs. He died in Cleveland, November 29, 1924.

Sources:
Haverstock, Mary Sayre, et al; Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900. Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio. 2000

Submitted by Edward P. Bentley, researcher of Lansing, Michigan

Adam Lehr (1853-1924)
Information provided by Susan Traut:

Adam Lehr was my great grandfather. My grandmother was Arline Lehr Leick. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He started out doing lettering on ice wagons. He often visited the Cleveland Metro Parks where he would sketch. He also made many trips to Zoar, Ohio where he would also sketch. He also took art lessons from Archibald Willard, who was also one of his friends. He is one of the founders of the Cleveland Art Society. He is buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Rocky River, Ohio next to his wife Mary Schnearline Lehr.