David Evans (1793-1861) was a Welsh stained glass artist born in the village of Llanllwchaiarn, close to Newtown in mid-Wales. He was apprenticed to Sir John Betton of Shrewsbury (1765-1849) in 1808, going into partnership with him from 1815 as Betton & Evans, a name that continued even after Betton retired ten years later. "Here Evans was fortunate in working on the ‘restoration’ of many important medieval stained glass windows" (Roberts): one commission was for the east window of St Mary's Shrewsbury, a church with a marvellous collection of medieval glass, where his work is much celebrated (see "The Stained Glass of St Mary's"); others were for Winchester College Chapel, and for the east window of Church Stretton. Paradoxically, says John Newman, "Evans’s own windows showed almost no influence from the medieval exemplars he came to know so well. For his designs he depended heavily on engravings after Old Master paintings, to create either strongly coloured figures and scenes in the spirit of Betton’s at Longner Hall, or small grisaille panels set in bright bandwork" (Newman and Pevsner 72-73). Eventually the firm, still producing windows in much the same style, was run by David's sons, Charles and William. It was then known as Evans Brothers. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Works
- Aaron, Moses and David in Bangor Cathedral
- St Luke, St Matthew and St Mark in Bangor Cathedral
- St Peter, St John and St Paul in Bangor Cathedral
Bibliography
"David Evans (1793-1861)." Gwydir Lliw yng Nghymru: Stained Glass in Wales. Web. 18 May 2021.
Newman, John, Nikolaus Pevsner and others. Shropshire. Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006.
Roberts, Lorna. "David Evans, the Forgotten Pioneer." www.buildingconservation.com. Web. 18 May 2021.
"The Stained Glass of St Mary's, Shrewsbury: A Virtual Tour." Vidimus 128. Web. 18 May 2021.
Created 18 May 2021