Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Fred Evans was a scenic artist at Sosman & Landis who specialized in painting street scenes. I have yet to locate definitive employment dates for Evans at the firm, but it was the early twentieth century.
Frederick Arthur Evans was born in Wales, sometime between 1853 and 1855. He was the son of Robert Evans and Mary Roberts, with his birth possibly registered at Merthyr Tydfil in Glamorgan County. To date, nothing is known of his early childhood or emigration to America, yet Frederick was living in the United States by 1870 and naturalized by 1872. The 1870 US Federal Census lists a 16-yrs.-old Frederick Evans living with Robert Roberts and Elizabeth Roberts in Chicago’s Sixth Ward. As Roberts was his mother’s maiden name, this was possibly a maternal familial tie, likely an uncle. At the time, Robert Roberts was 32-yrs. old and employed as a brass moulder.
By 1875 Frederick was listed in the Chicago Directory as a printer. The next year, in 1876, he was listed as a painter, boarding at 514 Wabash Avenue in Chicago. Evans would continue to work in both the printing and painting fields for the remainder of his life. From 1878 until 1901, the “Chicago Directory” pretty consistently listed Evans as a printed, and the 1910 Census listed him as a “lithographer.” That being said, this does not mean that Evans solely worked for the printing industry, as many professional lithographers also worked at scenic artists throughout the late-nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century. Even in 1920, the federal census listed two occupations and industries for Evans: the first entry was “editor” in the “newspaper” industry, and his second entry was “laborer” in the “drops” industry. Evans represents a unique type of career combination (scenic artist/lithographer); one that I have encountered before. These dual careers paired so well together at this time.
I am going to take a moment to address this blending of printing and painting occupations, a group of artists who lived with one foot in the painting profession and the other foot in the printing industry. Nineteenth-century scenic art paired beautifully with other illustrative arts. There is something extremely comforting about being able to paint both big and small, and there were always the small models and color renderings to create for projects. Until scenic studios began to function like a factory, scenic artists had to be well-versed in a variety of artistic mediums and scales.
Two of the most famous painter/printer pairings were Otto Jevne and P. M. Almini. There is a lovely article about the two at Chicagology, here is the link: https://chicagology.com/prefire/prefire175/
Jevne & Almini not only ran an extremely successful decorative firms, but also were well known for their pre-1871 color lithographs of Chicago. The two partnered in 1855 to establish Jevne & Almini, fresco artists. By the 1860s, they entered the publishing business. Their most popular work was a series entitled “Chicago Illustrated,” beginning in 1866. The publication included stunning views of Chicago and descriptive text.
They did not leave the decorative painting business to focus on publishing, instead they diversified their interests. All the while, the two operated a successful painting firm and artistic supply business, securing interior decoration contracts for numerous churches, assembly halls, and public buildings across the country. Their project’s included well-known theaters such as McVicker’s Theatre and Crosby’s Opera House in Chicago, as well as other prominent structures across the country, including state capitols in Madison, Wisconsin, Des Moines, Iowa, and Topeka, Kansas. In addition to painting and publishing, Jevne & Almini also featured a “Free Art Gallery” and sold painting supplies in the mid-1860s, located at 152-4 Clark Street. An advertisement from 1869 announced, “JEVNE & ALMINI, Importers and Dealers in Artist and Painters’ Materials, and Fresco Painters, 152 & 154 Clark Street, Chicago. They became a hub, gathering a variety of artists and forming an incredible network of skilled labor; this was a brilliant business marketing strategy.
Unfortunately, it was the Chicago fire of 1871 that terminated the partnership and end their involvement in the publication business. The two split, with each artist establishing their own firm. Many Sosman & Landis artists got their start at P. M. Almini & Co., including last president of the firm, Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934). In the early 1870s, Moses worked for Louis Malmsha at Almini’s company, gilding opera boxes and assisting with ornamental painting projects. Moses entered the scenic art profession as an after-hours-assistant to his mentor Malmsha, painting stage settings at McVicker’s Theatre.
Another example of this dual career approach is Charles S. Graham, who also greatly influenced Moses’ scenic art career (link to my past post about it: https://drypigment.net2018/10/03/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-part-524-charles-s-graham/). Graham was another professional who worked as both a scenic artist and lithographer, making a national name for himself by the late-nineteenth-century. His work was especially popular at Harper’s Magazine. Here is a work by Graham for Harper’s, dated Nov. 30, 1878; it really bridges the gap between lithography and scenic art:
So, you see, Fred A. Evans working as a printer and painter is a common pairing.
I am including listings for Frederick A. Evans’ from the Chicago Directory, c. 1875-1901. There are a few gaps in years, but it still gives a pretty good scope of his printing career and residences in Chicago. It also provides a sense of how difficult it is can be to track down an individual with slight name changes; it involves searching each directory and making comparisons with other artists.
1875 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick. printer. R 49 W. Ohio.
1876 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick. painter, boarding at 514 Wabash av
1877 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. foreman 170 Clark, h 152 Douglas Av. [This is where the publication office of the Educational Weekly was located in 1877 until it moved to 170 Madison later that year].
1878 Chicago Directory: Evans, Fred A. printer, h 163 24th
1882 Chicago Directory: Evans, Fred A. printer, h 2828 Groveland
1885 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer 18 Fullerton av h 372 Chicago av
1885 Lakeview, Illinois, City Directory: Evans, F. A. clk. Deering & Co. r 372 E. Chicago av [William Deering & Co. was a farm machinery firm; likely an illustrator for ads or painter of equipment.]
1886 Lakeview, Illinois, City Directory: Evans, Frederick. lithog, r 763 Sheffield av
1887 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer, h 763 Sheffield av
1887 Lakeview, Illinois, City Directory: Evans, Frederick A. lithographer, r 763 Sheffield av
1888 Lakeview, Illinois, City Directory: Evans, F. A. clerk, W. Deering & Co. 18 Fullerton av
1888 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer, h. 763 Sheffield av
1889 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. clk. 16 Fullerton av. H 763 Sheffield
1889 Lakeview, Illinois, City Directory: Evans, Fred A. clerk, W. Deering & Co. r. 760 Sheffield av
1890 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer, h. 763 Sheffield av
1891 Chicago Directory: Evans, F. A. clk. 18 Fullerton av. h. 763 Sheffield av
1896 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer, h. 670 Sheffield av.
1897 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer, h. 670 Sheffield av
1898 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer, h. 670 Sheffield av
1899 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer, h. 670 Sheffield av
1900 Chicago Directory: Evans, Fred printer h. 666 Sheffield av
1901 Chicago Directory: Evans, Frederick A. printer h 1239 Montana
The 1880 Census listed Fred Evans living with Ada Evans, still working as a printer. They lived at 2964 Dearborn St in Chicago. In actuality, Frederick Evans married Adah (Ada) Senior on June 10, 1885 in Norwood Park (Cook County), Illinois. They would later be buried in Norwood too. Adah L. Senior (b. 1859) was the daughter of Anna (Ann) Hewes and Fred Senior. Born in England, she emigrated to the United States in 1877 and was naturalized in 1892.
Any information pertaining to the Evans family has been extremely difficult to track down and I have spent countless hours examining census reports, immigration records, ship’s manifests, and city directories. Here is what I have located to date: The couple celebrated the birth of a daughter between 1888 and 1894. Pearle A. “Annie” Evans was listed as Annie, Perala, and Pearl. The 1910 US Federal Census lists Frederick A. Evans as a 53-yrs.-old lithographer working in the newspaper industry. At this time, he was living with his 49-yrs.-old wife Adah L. and is 22-yrs.-old daughter Annie S. (Pearl Annie), at 4148 Sacramento Ave.
In 1914, there were two Pearl (Pearl Annie) Evans in the Chicago Directory: One as a stenographer with Swift & Co. stockyards, h. 3850 Indiana av and the second a stenographer 1047, 175 W Jackson bl h 5949 S Wood. Meanwhile, Fred and Adah were living at 4140 Sacramento av, with Fred Evans still listed as a printer.
On July 19, 1918 the “Chicago Tribune” listed Adah L. and Pearle A. Evans’ involvement with the Grover Cleveland school dedication services (page 7). The article reported, “Mrs. Adah L. Evans sang “The Star Spangled Banner,” accompanied by Miss Pearle A. Evans, who was pianist for the evening.” On July 22, 1918, the “Chicago Tribune” reported that Mrs. Adah L. Evans would sing “Star Spangled Banner,” accompanied by Miss Pearla Evans (Miss Evans is also a musician during the ceremonial part of the evening). The performance “for the installation of officers at the White Star auxiliary to the Second Illinois Infantry, now the 132 United States infantry” (page 11).
Six years later, the 1920 census lists Pearla Evans as a dancer in the “stage” industry, living with her parents on Sacramento Ave. At this time, Fred was still associated with the publishing and scenery professions. In 1920, “Pearla” listed her age as “26” in the census, but I highly suspect this information.
Both Fred and Adah died in 1925 and were buried at the Acacia Park Cemetery and Mausoleum in Norwood, Illinois. It originated as a cemetery for Masons and their families, opened on Chicago’s far northside in 1922. Fred died on January 9, 1924,with Adah following on March 18 of that same year. By 1940, the federal census listed Pearl Evans as an “inmate” (b. 1894) at the Lincoln State School and Colony. It was not a prison, but an asylum for the “feeble minded” in West Lincoln Township, Illinois. The census notes that Pearl only attended the first grade of school; no other information about her past was provided. I have no way of knowing if this is the real fate of Fred and Ada’s daughter. I have yet to locate any marriage or death records for her.
The only other information pertaining to Fred Evans’ scenic art career at Sosman & Landis was provided by Art Oberbeck in an interview with Dr. John Rothgeb on July 24, 1976. Oberbeck worked at Sosman and Landis at the same time Fred Evans, approximately 1907-1915. He referred to the former Sosman & Landis as a 75 yrs. old “oddball;” but age and character is quite subjective, so I take his comments with a grain of salt. Oberbeck credited Evans’ approach to laying out street scenes as infallible. His process was accounted by Randi Givercer Frank’s M.A. Thesis, “Sosman & Landis Studio: A Study of Scene Painting in Chicago, 1900-1925.” She credits Evan’s Sosman & Landis’ foremost “street painter.” Evans process for laying out street scene included placing the perspective point or horizon line should approximately 5’-9” up from the bottom of the painted composition. For many, this fell at eye-level when painting on a vertical frame. Once the horizon line was established, the correct way to position any single-story building was to put two-thirds of the of the building above the horizon line and one-third below the horizon line. If it was a two-story building, the height of the first story was simply doubled. Keep in mind that painted perspective for the early-twentieth-century stage did not follow the conventional rules for perspective in fine art.
On that note, I am going to include an excerpt from a publication written by another Sosman & Landis employee, Frank H. Atkinson. Atkinson’s publication “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” (1916) includes a section entitled “Stage Perspective.” Atkinson writes, “Rules of perspective are often very much modified, or even rejected, in scene painting, and “stage perspective” is adopted, especially in the creation of wings or side scenes. In true perspective all lines must converge to a single vanishing point, or they must converge to a double vanishing point. But in scene painting it becomes necessary to violate the rules in order to avoid embarrassment in the result which would follow if true perspective rules are applied below the horizon line. Stage perspective dictates that all lines below the horizon line be kept parallel to the stage floor and the horizon line.” Atkinson’s illustrations place the horizon line at approximately 5’-9” in most scenarios. I am including mention of Atkinson, as he enters the storyline tomorrow when I explore the life and career of Sosman & Landis employee #41 Frank Lewis. Lewis’ younger sister married Atkinson, and they were all living in Chicago and working at Sosman & Landis when Atkinson published his book.
Finally, Dr. John Rothgeb interviewed another former Sosman & Landis scenic artist John Hanny between 1976 and 1983. A letter from John Hanny to Dr. John Rothgeb on July 14, 1976, stated, “[Sosman & Landis] was a wonderful place to work – especially for young and hopeful painters where they could get fine training and experience working with such men as Thomas G. Moses. David Strong, Fred Evans. Frank Lewis, Fred Scott, and William Nutzhorn and others.”
To be continued…
