Theodore Clement Steele, American, 1847–1926
1896
Oil on Canvas
26.5 in. x 21.5 in. (without frame)
30.5 in. x 25.5 in. x 2 in. (with frame)
Courtesy Indiana Historical Society
“In 1872 Lyman Ayres acquired a controlling interest in the Trade Palace, a dry-goods store in Indianapolis. Two years later, he bought out his partners and renamed the establishment L. S. Ayres and Company. For the next century, Ayres was as much a part of Indianapolis as Monument Circle or the Indianapolis 500. Generations of midwestern families visited the vast store to shop for everything from furs to television sets, to see the animated Christmas windows, and, to visit Santa Claus and enjoy lunch in the Tea Room.”1
1 Turchi, Kenneth. L.S. Ayres and Company: The Store at the Crossroads of America. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society Press, 2012.
ISBN-13: 978-0871953001