Kansas City, MO. Feb. 26, 2016–Lee Lyon, who along with his late wife Joanne amassed a Native American art collection of masterworks, has died at the age of 91. Lyon, formerly of Kansas City, lived for many years in Aspen, Colorado. He moved back to Kansas City in recent years and actively participated in the Committee on Collections at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
“Joanne and Lee were tremendous supporters of the Nelson-Atkins, and their generosity provided a much greater depth to our Native American collection,” said Julián Zugazagoitia, Menefee D. and Mary Louise Blackwell CEO & Director of the Nelson-Atkins. “I got to know Lee very well in recent years and enjoyed traveling with him very much. His opinionated voice will be greatly missed in our Committee 
on Collections meetings.”
“Over the years, I was privileged to have a personal relationship with Lee and Joanne that was multi-faceted,” said Shirley Bush Helzberg, Chair of the Nelson-Atkins Board of Trustees. “Our relationship covered art, artists, objects, food, and always involved stimulating intellectual conversation on many subjects. Lee brought great depth and stimulation to our work together at the museum. He touched many lives and we are deeply saddened.”
Lyon had said that he and Joanne selected the Nelson-Atkins as the recipient of their collection, which included a group of 14 Southeastern Woodlands and Delaware bandolier bags believed to be the largest collection in the world, because the museum presents the art of Native Americans as great art rather than artifacts. Joanne died in May 2013.
With an eclectic taste and discerning eye for quality, Lyon recently began acquiring ancient manuscripts, and gifted the Nelson-Atkins with the famous London Book of Gospels, a work which is internationally recognized as one of the greatest late Armenian illuminated manuscripts by Mesrop of Xizan, the most important Armenian painter of the seventeenth century. The bold and colorful illustrations demonstrate the vibrant and highly inventive nature of late Armenian painting. The London Book of Gospels is richly illustrated, allowing for larger or more frequent display of the book and its folios. With over 40 full-page paintings, 23 of which are mounted separately and ready for display, the wealth of imagery present in this one acquisition enables the Nelson-Atkins to exhibit its paintings with much greater frequency.
After moving to Aspen, Colorado in 1978, Lyon, an Air Force pilot during World War II, Harvard graduate, successful business man, inventor securing numerous patents and accomplished ceramicist, studied with Dale Chihuly at the Pilchuck Glass School in Washington state and worked with hot glass to create unique cast pieces for use as architectural elements. Lyon’s young apprentice, fellow-artist Jacqueline Spiro, became his partner, and for the past 23 years, they collaborated through the company Spiro now owns, Spiro Lyon Glass in Carbondale, Colorado.
When the Lyon’s son, artist Mike Lyon, and daughter, Pat Brown, were growing-up in Kansas City, Joanne Lyon, a Denver, Colorado native, studied with Wilbur Niewald and Dale Eldred at the
Kansas City Art Institute and for nine years was development director for Kansas City Public Television. Returning to Colorado, she partnered in what would become the Joanne Lyon Gallery, featuring internationally recognized artists, both Native and non-Native. She also volunteered as a U. S. Forest Ranger, walking the Maroon Bells trails in the White River National Forest near Aspen.
Image caption: Shoulder Bag, Seminole, Florida, ca. 1830. Wool cloth, glass beads, silk ribbon and wool yarn, 29 ½ x 12 ¾ inches (74.9 x 32.4 cm). Gift of Joanne and Lee Lyon, 2012.27.5
Manuscript image: Courtesy of Sam Fogg, London.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
The Nelson-Atkins in Kansas City is recognized nationally and internationally as one of America’s finest art museums. The Nelson-Atkins serves the community by providing access and insight into its renowned collection of more than 35,000 art objects and is best known for its Asian art, European and American paintings, photography, modern sculpture, and new American Indian and Egyptian galleries. Housing a major art research library and the Ford Learning Center, the Museum is a key educational resource for the region. The institution-wide transformation of the Nelson-Atkins has included the 165,000-square-foot Bloch Building expansion and renovation of the original 1933 Nelson-Atkins Building.
The Nelson-Atkins is located at 45th and Oak Streets, Kansas City, MO. Hours are Wednesday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Thursday/Friday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission to the museum is free to everyone. For museum information, phone 816.751.1ART (1278) or visit nelson-atkins.org/.
For media interested in receiving further information, please contact:
Kathleen Leighton, Manager, Media Relations and Video Production
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
816.751.1321
kleighton@nelson-atkins.org