Martha Ingram, the first lady of Nashville arts, dies at 90

Ingram's philanthropic contributions essentially created Nashville's fine arts scene as it exists today.

• Ingram was renowned for her generosity, donating from her personal fortune and spearheading fundraising for causes too numerous to list.

Ingram is credited with helping build the civic infrastructure around many of the city's biggest art institutions.

• When the Nashville Symphony and Schermerhorn Symphony Center were facing financial calamity a decade ago, Ingram stepped in as a savior.
• She was instrumental in the formation of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in the 1970s, and more recently played a pivotal role in the successful push to build a new fine arts facility on the East Bank.
• She also served on boards for the Nashville Opera and the Frist Center for the Visual Arts.

"My first experience working with her was when the Nashville Symphony got in financial trouble in the late 1980s, before I became mayor. I found her both intelligent and streetwise, and totally committed to doing the right thing for Nashville," former Gov. Phil Bredesen said in a statement.

• "Martha left everything she touched better for her having passed that way — I can think of no finer epitaph for a great Nashvillian, Tennessean, and American."

As a business leader, she led the successful Ingram Industries following her husband's death in 1995, becoming the wealthiest woman in Tennessee.

Ingram served as chairwoman of the Vanderbilt University board from 1999-2011. At Vanderbilt, her vision for a residential college network, with residence halls clustered around pristine courtyards, transformed the university's footprint.

She was a trailblazer as a female leader in Tennessee. Ingram emerged as a civic and philanthropic powerhouse at a time when men held most of the key roles in business and government.

• "She has achieved what she has by leading strong-willed men," former Vanderbilt chancellor Nicholas Zeppos said in a 2011 account from Vanderbilt University.

What they're saying: "There isn't a female leader in Nashville who didn't absolutely revere Mrs Ingram and her leadership," prominent business leader Janet Miller said. "Nashville simply wouldn't be where it is in the top-ranking cities of this country without her grit, her grace, her dedication to the arts and business, and her ability to simply get things done."

• "Very few have accomplished as much and contributed as much to help Tennesseans as Martha Ingram did," former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said. "She did all of this with grace, a smile and compassion for others."
• "For half a century governors and mayors came and went, and through it all Martha Ingram carried the arts on her shoulders for all of us," former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell said. "Her indomitable will and her generosity made the arts central to our success as a city, and to our future."

Ingram is survived by one daughter and three sons, including Nashville SC owner John Ingram.

• A funeral service will be held at 10am Aug. 14 at St. George's Episcopal Church.

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Ingram was 90 years old (not 91).