Portrait of Law School Donor Lewis Unveiled

A new work by renowned African-American artist Vincent Smith -- a portrait of Reginald F. Lewis, the late chair and CEO of the international food company TLC Beatrice -- was unveiled at the Law School last Saturday at Austin Hall. The unveiling was part of the 30th reunion of Lewis' law school class.

The Reginald F. Lewis International Law Center at the Law

School, named in honor of Lewis, is the first building at Harvard to be named in honor of an African-American and the first at an Ivy League school to be named for an African-American donor. In 1992 Lewis donated $3 million to the School to establish the Lewis Center and to support international studies. At the time the gift was the largest from any individual in the history of the Law School.

At the time of Lewis' death in 1993, TLC Beatrice International was the largest black-owned business in the country. Lewis had acquired Beatrice in a $985 million leveraged buyout in 1987.

Smith painted this posthumous portrait in brightly hued oils at his Brooklyn, N.Y., studio. It depicts the late entrepreneur surrounded by books and African sculptures that were important to him. Lewis rose from humble beginnings as a waiter's son to become the driving force behind TLC Beatrice International.

It was one of Lewis' last wishes for his portrait to be painted by Smith, a longtime friend and one of his favorite artists. Smith worked on the portrait from photographs provided by Lewis' widow, Loida Lewis. Mrs. Lewis is the current chair and CEO of her late husband's company.

"This painting was a real labor of love for me," said Smith. "Reg

loved beauty and had a profound respect for painting."