William Evans of Eton
, British, 1798-1877
Title
Killary, near the Mouth of the Bundoracha River, County GalwayDate1838
MediumWatercolour, graphite and glazes on paper
Dimensions
42 x 58.5 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 2008
Object numberNGI.2008.36.9
DescriptionEvans was for many years the drawing master at Eton, the famous English public school, a position he was appointed to following his father’s retirement in 1823. In 1835 and 1838 Evans toured the west of Ireland and the Gallery holds 41 works from his latter tour. Some of his west of Ireland studies were used as illustrations for Mr and Mrs Samuel C. Hall’s lavish guide book, Ireland: its Scenery, Character &c, published in three volumes in 1843. In this watercolour Evans focuses on the simple thatched cottage built into an earthen bank. At this time the west of Ireland was densely populated, with dwellings dotted throughout the boggy, mountainous landscape. the composition was first sketched in pencil, with colour added later using loose brushwork in order to build up tone and texture. The image gives a real sense of what life was like for the ordinary people of Connemara who scratched a living from the poor soil in the decade before the Great Famine. Smoke is shown rising from the hole in the roof that served as a chimney and escaping through the rough window, all of which gives a sense of how dark and uncomfortable the interior would have been. March 2016
ProvenanceThomas Gambier Parry and by descent; purchased, Private Collection, April 2008