Thomas E. Stephens (1885–1966)
2004.1.1
Gift of Cummings & Lockwood
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Oil on canvas Thomas E. Stephens (1885–1966) 2004.1.1 Gift of Cummings & Lockwood |
Charles Davenport Lockwood was born in Stamford November 11, 1877, son of Henry and Helen Davenport Lockwood. He attended local public schools and graduated from Stamford High, class of 1897, then attended Yale and went on to Yale Law School, graduating cum laude in 1903.
He began his practice of law in New York as deputy assistant district attorney of New York County, from 1904 to 1906.
Charles married Gertrude Bell of Stamford, October 13, 1906 and in 1907 was elected Judge of Probate for the District of Stamford and was reelected in 1908 and again in 1910. In 1913 he declined another term.
On September 1, 1909 he formed a partnership with Homer S. Cummings, another local attorney who was a former mayor of Stamford. Their firm, Cummings & Lockwood, grew and prospered, becoming one of the leading law firms in the country. It will celebrate its 100th anniversary later this year.
As a prominent Democrat, Charles D. Lockwood served in the lower house of the State Legislature and ran as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1918. He served on numerous local and state boards throughout his life.
Judge Lockwood served his community as director of many financial and business institutions. Among them was the Lockwood & Palmer Company, his father’s hardware company where he had worked as a boy and young man.
Portraitist Thomas Edgar Stephens was born in Cardiff, South Wales and studied art at Cardiff University, London and Paris before eventually settling in the United States where he became a naturalized citizen. In 1950, Stephens was commissioned by the United States Military Academy to paint the portraits of many of the Army’s foremost generals. He also painted portraits of numerous members of government including Presidents Truman and Eisenhower as well as First Lady, Mamie Eisenhower.
Stephens and Eisenhower became close friends. In a 1954 letter written by President Eisenhower to Winston Churchill discussing some weighty matters on world affairs, his last paragraph is an interesting aside. “As you know, I occasionally flatter myself by attempting to paint likenesses of friends. I would be tremendously intrigued by the effort to paint one of you. Would it be an intolerable burden on you to allow an artist friend of mine to visit you long enough to take a few photographs and draw a few hasty color sketches that I could use in such an attempt?” Churchill replied that he would be delighted to see Eisenhower’s friend – T. E. Stephens.
Portrait of a Family: Stamford through the Legacy of the Davenports
Charles Davenport Lockwood
Image © Stamford Historical Society