William Evans (1798–1877) was an English water-colour painter.

Life

Evans was born at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

on 4 December 1798 to Samuel Evans, a landscape painter originally from

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

who had settled at

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

. Samuel Evans was selected to teach drawing to the daughters of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, and eventually became a drawing master at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

. There are some views of North Wales and Windsor by him which have been engraved. He left Eton around 1818 for

Droxford Droxford ( Drokensford) is a village in Hampshire, England. Geography The village is clustered with slight ribbon development along its main, north–south, undulating road. It is entirely on the lower half of the western slopes of the Meon ...

, Hampshire, where he died in around 1835. William Evans studied at Eton, and originally studied medicine, but eventually turned to art and became a pupil of

William Collins William Collins may refer to: Arts * William Collins (poet) (1721–1759), English poet * William Collins (painter) (1788–1847), English landscape artist * William Lucas Collins (1815–1887), English author and clergyman of the Church of Engla ...

, R.A.. In 1818, Dr. Keate appointed him drawing master at Eton in his father's place. He was elected an associate of the Old Society of Painters in Watercolours on 11 February 1828, in which year he exhibited drawings of Windsor, Eton, Thames fishermen, Barmouth, and Llanberis. On 7 June 1830, he was elected a member of the society and continued to be a constant contributor to their exhibitions. He made some large drawings of the Eton "Montem", which were engraved. Evans continued to teach drawing at Eton until 1837 when his wife died, and he made up his mind to move to London. At that time the

oppidans A King's Scholar, abbreviated KS in the United Kingdom, is the recipient of a scholarship from a foundation created by, or under the auspices of, a British monarch. The scholarships are awarded at certain public schools and colleges in England. ...

at Eton were still lodged in houses kept by ladies, known as "dames", a system which placed the boys under little to no control. It being Dr. Hawtrey's wish to place the boarding houses under the charge of men connected with the work of the school, the Rev. Thomas Carter, the Rev. Edward Coleridge, and the Rev. George Selwyn persuaded Evans to take one of these houses and retain his former position as drawing master. This Evans did in 1840, working with great energy. Evans died after some years of ill-health at Eton on New Year's Eve in 1877. He was succeeded in the post of drawing master to the school by his son, Samuel T. G. Evans, also a member of the Society of Painters in Watercolours, and in the management of the boarding house by his daughter, Jane Evans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, William 1798 births 1877 deaths English watercolourists 19th-century English painters English male painters People educated at Eton College Teachers at Eton College 19th-century English educators 19th-century English male artists