Virginia B. Evans

Bruges
Gouache on Paper
10 x 11

St. Ives, Cornwall
Tempera on Black Watercolor Paper
13 x 16

The Fountain, Sintra, Portugal
Gouache on Paper
9 x 12

Wine and Teapot
Oil on Canvas
8 x 7

Virginia Evans

A native of Moundsville, Virginia Evans was one of the leading artistic figures in West Virginia
during the twentieth century, working as a painter, teacher and glassmaker. After graduating in
1914 from a prestigious Catholic all-girls school in Wheeling, she continued her education at the
Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation on Long Island. She
traveled to Europe four times between 1926 and 1931, visiting Portugal, Spain, France, the
Netherlands and Germany.

During the 1920s and 1930s her work was exhibited to great acclaim both regionally and
nationally. In 1931 Evans was elected to the Society of Women Painters and Sculptors. Her
Impressionist paintings were hailed by critics, as were her plein-air gouaches. In 1942 she was engaged by Imperial Glass Corporation to design a new line of glassware based on Chinese motifs. This collection evolved into Imperial Cathay Crystal, a distinctive selection of decorative and functional items that included some of the finest pieces of American-made crystal.

Evans moved to Florida in 1957, residing first in Orlando, then in Naples, where she became a
leading member and teacher at the Naples Art Association. Her painting output during this
period was very eclectic, ranging from abstract works to traditional and experimental landscapes.
In 1972 she was commissioned to create a work for the permanent collection at the Wet Virginia
State Museum.

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