Welcome to the World as Seen Through My Eyes

Born on Long Island, Louis Legakis (1915–2014) began his artistic journey in childhood. After his father passed away when Louis was only nine, he and his brothers left school to support their mother. Despite these hardships, Louis began drawing at 12, famously walking nine miles to Roosevelt Field in 1927 to watch Charles Lindbergh’s historic takeoff.

A World War II veteran, Louis served in active combat across Africa, Italy, and Europe, including the Battle of the Bulge. In March 1945, while returning from the war aboard the Queen Mary, a friend sketched a portrait of him that remains a cherished memento.

In the mid-1930s, his talent caught the eye of his Searingtown neighbor, Japanese landscape artist Shogo Myaida. Their collaboration led to the creation of the Japanese-style gardens for the 1939 World's Fair and the prestigious Hillwood Estates in Washington, D.C.—experiences that inspired Louis to build his own Japanese garden at his home in Cold Spring Harbor.

Louis later refined his craft under Leopold Matzal at the Newark School of Fine Arts. Decades after Matzal’s death in 1956, a portrait he painted titled” My Friend Louis” was discovered by the teacher's family and returned to Louis’s daughter. In 2013, Louis's lifelong dedication to art was celebrated with a solo exhibition at the Cold Spring Public Library and a cover story in Newsday's LI Life Sunday magazine.