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 dep ...

on 4 December 1798, was son of Samuel Evans, a landscape-painter originally from

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

, who had settled at

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area *Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wind ...

. Samuel Evans he 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 of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and eventually became drawing-master at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

. There are some views of North Wales and Windsor by him which have been engraved. He left Eton about 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 v ...

, Hampshire, where he died in about 1835. William Evans was educated at Eton, and originally studied medicine, but eventually turned to art, and became a pupil of William Collins, 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 Water-colours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...

on 11 February 1828, in which year he exhibited drawings of Windsor, Eton, Thames fishermen, Barmouth, and Llanberis, and on 7 June 1830 he was elected a member of the society. He 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 is a foundation scholar (elected on the basis of good academic performance and usually qualifying for reduced fees) of one of certain public schools. These include Eton College; The King's School, Canterbury; The King's School ...

at Eton were still lodged in houses kept by ladies, known as "dames", a system which placed the boys under little or 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' ill-health, at Eton on New Year's Eve, 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 Water-colours, 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