John Evans (1847-1923) was born in Caernarvon, Wales. He trained as a stone carver under his father in England before arriving in New York in 1872. After a year in Chicago after the big fire he returned to the East. He settled in Boston in 1873. Initially Evans worked out of his house and studio near Copley Square. In 1880 he moved to a studio/shop on Huntington Avenue and joined in business with carpenter and wood carver Richard J. Tombs. The company initially known as Evans and Tombs became the John Evans & Company in 1890. Later the firm became John Evans & Son. His reputation as the finest carver of his time was widespread. Evans became one of the country’s leading wood and stone carvers and modelers. As a result, the firm specialized in ecclesiastical commissions. His services were in demand by the most prominent architectural firms of the day.
The architect Ralph Adams Cram knew well of Evans’ firm. Evans had a professional partnership with Henry Hobson Richardson from 1873 until Richardson’s death in 1886. Richardson’s successor firm continued to use the John Evans Company. Cram valued craftsmen who could carry out his designs whether in stained glass, stone, wood or textiles.
Synod House
The firm of Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson finished the design for Synod Hall in 1912. This was to be the first of the Cathedral’s auxiliary buildings. Furthermore, the building’s site had a prominent position facing Amsterdam Avenue like the Cathedral itself. The auditorium would provide seating for over 1,000 and the building would house committee and conference rooms as well as Bishop’s offices.
The Gothic Revival style Synod House is clad in a unique quartzite from Kingwood, West Virginia. It also features a steeply pitched roof covered in slate. Buttresses flank inset arches pierced by doors and windows, lancet-arched windows, turrets, label lintels, and a central gabled section having monumental arches. Cram indicated he…
” wanted to make this Hall the most beautiful thing in New York…with a color combination that would be unique, and at the same time strikingly beautiful.”
– Ralph Adams Cram
Evans’ Carvings
The Synod House front facade is elaborate and highly ornamented. The projecting Gothic arched entrance portal’s carvings are the work of the John Evans & Company.
The archivolts contain three ranges of 36 figures that illustrate the progress of civilization and Christianity. Accordingly, the Apostles of Christianity, the arts and sciences, and crafts and industries are portrayed. In the tympanum are relief figures of Christ sending his disciples to preach. Flanking the entrance doors are seven figures of famous Christian rulers, including George Washington in the center.
The official completion of Synod house was May of 1914.
The Potter Memorial Pulpit
The pulpit, designed by Henry Vaughn, is near the entrance to the Choir on the Crossing. The dedication took place on Sunday, September 10, 1916. The John Evans Company carved the marble as well as the quarter sawn oak canopy. The stone is Tennessee Marble, “an uncrystalline limestone favorable for very fine work”.
This description is from STONE, Sept. 1916…
“The structure has six sides, and is eleven feet high and fifteen feet long and six and one-half wide. On the upper part are carved these scenes from the life of Christ, enclosed in Gothic portals: The Nativity, Christ questioning the doctors, The Crucifiction, The Resurrection and The Supper at Emmaus. The backgrounds are in bas-relief and depth and space are given to the subjects. Single figures of saints and ecclesiastics stand in small niches at the angles.
On the base between the slender flowered pillars are the symbols of the Evangelists: The angel, the lion, the ox and the eagle. The central column is formed by five flat Gothic portals. The shield of the church and the sacred flowers ornament the lowest part of the base. Statues of St. John the Baptist and Isaiah stand on the posts of the balustrade of pierced tracery. The faces of all of the figures have an animation which is not often found in modern church sculpture. The sounding board is carved in exquisite Gothic ornaments.
Amidst the grandeur of the Cathedral, this intricately carved pulpit is worth a close-up look.
The Historical Parapet
The Historical Parapet or Choir Parapet is at the entrance to the Choir. John Evans & Co. carved the figures. Symbolically, it represents outstanding characters of the 20 centuries of the Christian Era. Cram & Ferguson designed the Parapet. Installation occurred in 1923.
Febo Ferrari (1865-1949) modeled the first 19 figures. Ferrari was born in Italy and later studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Turin. He worked in Paris and Buenos Aires until he came to America in 1903. He had a studio in New Haven, Conn.
It is in two sections, one on each side of the steps leading from the Crossing to the Choir. Each section of the Parapet is 18 1/2 feet long and 4 feet high. The main stone used is Champville marble from France. The overall style is French Gothic.
The 20th stone remained uncarved until the end of the Twentieth Century. Eventually, the committee chose four individuals to represent the most recent century. Chris Pellettieri was to do that carving.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Albert Einstein, Susan B. Anthony, Mahatma Ghandi. Carving by Chris Pellettieri
The Open Air Pulpit
The Open Air Pulpit stands in the midst of the Cathedral Close. Specifically it is an open work Gothic spire 40 feet high. The pulpit carving is of Daytona Stone. The usual symbols of the four evangelists appear on its four sides. It is purported to be a work of the John Evans Company. No installation date is available.
John Evans – Carver, Modeler, Teacher
Evans’ architectural sculptures in stone are numerous, including many in granite. He worked in wood as well as being one of the very few names associated with carved brick. By the mid 1880’s his time was eventually spent in modeling works that would be executed by others in his employ.
Over his career Evans employed a large number of young craftsmen in his studio. Without doubt he was a strong supporter of the apprenticeship system. He worked to spread his craft outside the studio as well. In 1877 he became director of the School of Modeling and Sculpture at Boston’s Museum of Fine Art, teaching both men and women. Twenty years later he would go on to oversee a system of workshops for the first Society of Arts and Crafts in America. He and his partner Richard Tombs were both founding members.
For nearly five decades, Evans engaged in stonework on hundreds of buildings in the East and Midwest. Those of national importance are, of course, St. John The Divine as well as Washington Cathedral and Trinity Church, Boston. Upon his passing, many acts of personal kindness were noted by the local union’s Corresponding Secretary. This is recorded in the Stone Cutters Journal.
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- Stone Cutters Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1
- STONE magazine, Sept. 1916
- American Architect, Dec. 17, 1913; April 3, 1912
- Architecture and Building, Synod Hall, Nov., 1913
- Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine and the Cathedral Close, Designation Report, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, Feb 21, 2017
- Charitably Speaking, Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association, MCMA History – John Evans, Author-John Moriarty, December, 2013
- John Evans (1847-1923) and Architectural Sculpture in Boston, Ann Clifford, 1992
- Architectural Record, July 1, 1896
- Lincoln Financial Foundation Collection
- Columbia University Libraries
One reply on “John Evans & Company”
well done; comprehensive treatment of design, craft, material, iconography, and history