Jump to content

Edgar de Evia: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Mowens35 (talk | contribs)
4,454 edits
Mowens35 (talk | contribs)
4,454 edits
→‎Ealier carrers: fixed misspellings by Abu
Line 15: Line 15:
==Career==
==Career==


===Ealier carrers===
===Early career===
After briefly working for the [[Associated Press]]{{fact}}, he became the medical research assistant to Dr. [[Guy Beckley Stearns]], a [[homeopathic]] physician who was one of the pioneers of this field of medicine.<ref>For ''Laurie's Domestic Medicine'', a medical guide published in [[1942]], Stearns and Edgar D. Evia contributed an essay called "''The New Synthesis''", which was discussed by Richard Moskowitz, MD, in the [[New England Journal of Homeopathy]], Spring/Summer 2001, Vol. 10, No. 1. Moskowitz called the Stearns-Evia article "''a cutting-edge essay into homeopathic research that prophesied and actually began the development of [[kinesiology]], made original contributions to [[radionics]], and dared to sketch out a philosophy of these still esoteric frontiers of homeopathy at a time when such matters were a lot further beyond the pale of respectable science even than they are today.''" Stearns and Evia also contributed, from March until June [[1942]], a column entitled "''The New Synthesis''" to the Journal of the [[American Institute of Homeopathy]]. The pair also published, in the February 1942 issue of the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, an article entitled "''The Physical Basis of Homeopathy.''"</ref> According to de Evia{{fact}}, Stearns gave him his first camera, a [[Rollei]]flex, which he used in his office work, and taught him how to use it. He also said that one of his early mentors was Baron [[Nicolas de Gunzburg|Nicki de Gunzburg]], the magazine editor who gave him his first assignment for [[Town & Country (magazine)|Town & Country]] magazine. {{fact}}
After briefly working for the [[Associated Press]]{{fact}}, he became the medical research assistant to Dr. [[Guy Beckley Stearns]], a [[homeopathic]] physician who was one of the pioneers of this field of medicine.<ref>For ''Laurie's Domestic Medicine'', a medical guide published in [[1942]], Stearns and Edgar D. Evia contributed an essay called "''The New Synthesis''", which was discussed by Richard Moskowitz, MD, in the [[New England Journal of Homeopathy]], Spring/Summer 2001, Vol. 10, No. 1. Moskowitz called the Stearns-Evia article "''a cutting-edge essay into homeopathic research that prophesied and actually began the development of [[kinesiology]], made original contributions to [[radionics]], and dared to sketch out a philosophy of these still esoteric frontiers of homeopathy at a time when such matters were a lot further beyond the pale of respectable science even than they are today.''" Stearns and Evia also contributed, from March until June [[1942]], a column entitled "''The New Synthesis''" to the Journal of the [[American Institute of Homeopathy]]. The pair also published, in the February 1942 issue of the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, an article entitled "''The Physical Basis of Homeopathy.''"</ref> According to de Evia{{fact}}, Stearns gave him his first camera, a [[Rollei]]flex, which he used in his office work, and taught him how to use it. He also said that one of his early mentors was Baron [[Nicolas de Gunzburg|Nicki de Gunzburg]], the magazine editor who gave him his first assignment for [[Town & Country (magazine)|Town & Country]] magazine. {{fact}}


Revision as of 18:36, 30 August 2006

deEvia.com Logo designed with pen and ink ca. 1970 by Edgar de Evia

Edgar Domingo Evia, known professionally as Edgar de Evia (July 30, 1910 – February 10, 2003), was an Mexican-born American photographer, artist, and author. He had a active carrer from the 1940s through the 1980s for his work for magazines and newspapers such as Town & Country, House & Garden, Look and The New York Times and advertising campaigns for General Motors, Borden Ice Cream, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, Jell-O, Revlon, among other corporations.

Birth

De Evia was born in Mérida, Yucatán. His mother was Pauline Joutard, a French-born pianist of the 1920s and 1930s who performed under the stage name Miirrha Alhambra.[1] His father was Domingo Fernando Evia y Barbachano, a wealthy landowner. His great-grandfather Don Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo (1806-1859) was a five-time governor of the Mexican state of Yucatán.

Based on immigration and other official records, it appears that Evia altered his surname to de Evia sometime in his youth.[2]

On 30 June 1912, at the age of two, Evia arrived with his family in New York City aboard the liner "Progreso." [3]. He graduated from The Dalton School in 1931.[4]

Edgar de Evia, circa 1930.

Career

Early career

After briefly working for the Associated Press[citation needed], he became the medical research assistant to Dr. Guy Beckley Stearns, a homeopathic physician who was one of the pioneers of this field of medicine.[5] According to de Evia[citation needed], Stearns gave him his first camera, a Rolleiflex, which he used in his office work, and taught him how to use it. He also said that one of his early mentors was Baron Nicki de Gunzburg, the magazine editor who gave him his first assignment for Town & Country magazine. [citation needed]

Photography career

Frequently producing images utilizing soft focus and diffusion, de Evia was dubbed a "master of still life" in the 1957 publication Popular Photography Color Annual. In a review of the book, The New York Times stated that "Black and white [photography] is frequently interspersed through the book and serves as a reminder that black and white still has a useful place, even in a world of color, often more convincingly as well. This is pointed up rather persuasively in the portfolio on Edgar de Evia as a "master of still life" and in the one devoted to the work of Rene Groebil."[6]

William A. Reedy, editor of APPLIED PHOTOGRAPHY, in a 1970 interview for the Eastman Kodak publication Studio Light/Commercial Camera, wrote that de Evia:

"has been a photographic illustrator in New York City for many years. His work has helped sell automobiles, food, drink, furniture and countless other products. To fashion accounts he has been known as a fashion photographer, while food people think of him as a specialist in still life. While, in fact, he is a photographer, period. He applies his considerable talent and experience to whatever the problem at hand."[7]

Melvin Sokolsky, a fashion photographer who has created iconic images for Harpers Bazaar and Vogue, considered Edgar de Evia one of his earliest influences, saying, "I discovered that Edgar was paid $4,000 for a Jell-O ad, and the idea of escaping from my tenement dwelling became an incredible dream and inspiration."[8]

A romantic photograph of a 1937 Rolls-Royce, which had belonged to Barbara Hutton, near which de Evia's then companion, Robert Denning, was posed, pushing a girl in a swing, won de Evia the General Motors' Body by Fisher account in the early 1950s[citation needed].

In 1968, [9], de Evia served as the creative director for a catalogue-photography company he founded that produced photographs for a number of department-store catalogs, including those of Sakowitz in Houston and Gimbel's in New York.

Relationships

In the 1950s, de Evia's companion and business partner was Robert Denning, who worked in his studio and who would become a leading American interior designer and partner in the firm Denning & Fourcade.[10] From 1966 until de Evia's death, his companion and business partner was David McJonathan-Swarm.

Death

Edgar de Evia, age 92, died at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City from pneumonia following a broken hip.[11] His ashes were interred in the columbarium of the Little Church Around the Corner in New York City.[12]

Models photographed

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Edgar de Evia.

Often using the ornate backgrounds of the historic Rhinelander Mansion in New York -- much of which he leased in the 1950s and 1960s, used as his residence, and often rented out portions of as studios and offices -- de Evia had the opportunity to photograph some of the fashion world's top models for fashion magazines and commercial advertising, including:

Personalities photographed

=Working for magazines

Editorial photography

The citations given are only a fraction of de Evia's known published work.[16]

Books

Books that have been illustrated with de Evia's photography include:

Commercial photography

References

  1. ^ For information about her recitals in America, both on stage and radio, see the following: The New York Times, 17 June 1928 (p. 133), 13 February 1931 (p. 21), 13 November 1932 (p. X7), and 15 November 1932 (p. 19).
  2. ^ According to www.ellisisland.org, original ship manifests and passport information pertaining to the family's immigration to the United States in 1912 give the family's surname as EVIA.
  3. ^ According to the ship's manifest, which can be accessed at www.ellisisland.org, several members of the Evia family immigrated from Mexico to New York at the same time, including Evia's paternal aunt Rosario Evia de Espejo and her husband and children. In the manifest, his father, Domingo, gave his occupation as farmer. According to the manifest, the family's surname was Evia, not de Evia.
  4. ^ The head of the Dalton School Alumni Office confirmed this date of graduation by telephone on 28 August 2006.
  5. ^ For Laurie's Domestic Medicine, a medical guide published in 1942, Stearns and Edgar D. Evia contributed an essay called "The New Synthesis", which was discussed by Richard Moskowitz, MD, in the New England Journal of Homeopathy, Spring/Summer 2001, Vol. 10, No. 1. Moskowitz called the Stearns-Evia article "a cutting-edge essay into homeopathic research that prophesied and actually began the development of kinesiology, made original contributions to radionics, and dared to sketch out a philosophy of these still esoteric frontiers of homeopathy at a time when such matters were a lot further beyond the pale of respectable science even than they are today." Stearns and Evia also contributed, from March until June 1942, a column entitled "The New Synthesis" to the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy. The pair also published, in the February 1942 issue of the Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, an article entitled "The Physical Basis of Homeopathy."
  6. ^ "Color in Review: Popular Photography's Color Annual Surveys Medium's Current Status", The New York Times, 19 May 1957, page X17
  7. ^ "about Photography with Edgar de Evia" by William A. Reedy, p. 16 Studio Light/Commercial Camera v.2 no. 2 1970.
  8. ^ Melvin Sokolsky’s Affinities by Martin Harrison as reproduced on the web Melvin Sokolsky Seeing Fashion retrieved June 29, 2006. For a career-wide view of Sokolsky's work, see his website, www.sokolsky.com. For reference to his work for Vogue and other publications, see the following article and interview, www.bowhaus.com/news/msokolsky.php4
  9. ^ According to David McJonathan-Swarm, who was de Evia's companion and business partner from 1966 until 2003.
  10. ^ Mitchell Owens, "Robert Denning, Champion of Lavish Décor, The New York Times, 5 September 2005, page B7
  11. ^ Information from de Evia's companion, David McJonathan-Swarm, executor of the photographer's estate
  12. ^ Confirmed by Little Church Around the Corner
  13. ^ Edgar de Evia Archives, New York City, New York
  14. ^ Edgar de Evia Archives, New York City, New York
  15. ^ Edgar de Evia Archives, New York City, New York
  16. ^ According to records held by the Condé Nast Publications Library, in 1984 alone, de Evia had 193 photographs published in House & Garden, primarily of interiors of houses owned by individuals such as Helen Hayes and Gloria Vanderbilt. Company records also indicate that he produced thousands of images for Conde Nast Publications, on subjects ranging from fashion to food to interiors, which were published in Vogue, Architectural Digest, and other magazines.
  17. ^ Confirmed via holdings of Town & Country at the New York Public Library, Research Division, New York City, New York
  18. ^ Condé Nast Publications Library, New York City, New York
  19. ^ Condé Nast Publications Library, New York City, New York
  20. ^ The Petticoat Craze retrieved August 28, 2006
  21. ^ Seven photographic sheets from de Evia's shoot for this article are in the Look Magazine Photograph Collection, which is held at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., call number LOOK - Job 68-3978. Information about these images, which were taken on 14 November 1968, can be accessed at Library of Congress, retrieved 28 August 2006
  22. ^ Edgar de Evia Archives, New York City, New York

See also


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edgar_de_Evia&oldid=72865132"