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Edgar Domingo Evia y Joutard, known
professionally as Edgar de Evia (July 30, 1910 –
February 10, 2003), was a Mexican-born American photographer.
In a career that spanned the 1940s through the 1990s, his
photography appeared in magazines and newspapers such as Town & Country,
House
& Garden, Look and The New York Times
Magazine and advertising campaigns for Borden Ice Cream, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corporation, Jell-O among other
corporations.
Birth and
family
De Evia was born in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. His mother was Pauline
Joutard (1890-1957), a French-born pianist who performed under the stage name Miirrha
Alhambra.[1] His
father was Domingo Fernando Evia y Barbachano (1883-1977), a
wealthy landowner who was a member of two families that have been
prominent in the politics and culture of Yucatán since the mid 19th
century, one of which, the Barbachanos, has been described as "one
of the most powerful of Yucatán's oligarchy."[2]
His great-grandfather Don Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo
(1806–1859) was a five-time governor of Yucatán and the patriarch of a clan that was
instrumental in developing the Mexican resorts of Cozumel and Playas de Rosarito in Baja California
Norte and in popularizing the ruins of Chichen Itza as a tourist attraction.[3] Among
his cousins was Manuel Barbachano Ponce, the
Mexican film producer and director.
On 30 June 1912, at the age of two, Evia arrived with his family
in New York City
aboard the liner "Progreso".[4] He
graduated from The Dalton School
in 1931.[5]
Based on immigration and other official records, it appears that
Evia altered his surname to de Evia sometime after 1942, at which
time he was using the professional name Edgar D. Evia.[6]
Careers
Homeopathy
research
Edgar de Evia, circa 1930.
Edgar served as the research assistant to Dr. Guy Beckley
Stearns, a homeopathic physician with whom he wrote
and published articles and one book about homeopathy.
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 expanded that same
year into a book entitled "The Physical Basis of Homeopathy and
the New Synthesis". In the New England Journal of Homeopathy
(Spring/Summer 2001, Vol. 10, No. 1), Richard Moskowitz, MD, 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."[7]
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".
Logo designed by Edgar de Evia in pen and ink and used by the
photographer on all of his business transactions the last thirty
years of his life.
Photography
Photographic self-portrait by Edgar de Evia reflected with the oil
portrait by
M.
Jean McLane of himself as a child (circa 1990).
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."[8]
"Editorial high-key food photography was introduced by Edgar D'Evia
in 1953 for the pages of Good Housekeeping."[9]
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."[10]
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."[11]
In 1968,[12] de
Evia founded and served as creative director of a
catalogue-photography company that produced photographs for a
number of department-store catalogs.
Models
photographed
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 was hired, through his agent, David
Chimay, to photograph some of the fashion world's top models in
assignments for fashion magazines and commercial advertising.[13] The
models included:
Personalities
photographed
De Evia also produced commissioned photographic portraits of
individuals well-known in the social, film, music, and theatre
worlds, including the following:
Editorial
photography
The citations given are only a fraction of de Evia's known
published work.[19]
- Applied Photography: 5 expressions on a new
film #12, 1959; Studies in Tone Gradation—the hallmark of
excellence #60, 1975
- Town &
Country[20]
- Vogue[21]
- Vogue
Paris: October 1985 - #660; April 1986 - #665; May 1986 -
#666,
- Architectural Digest[22]January
2000[23]
- Glamour: November 1979;
December 1980; January 1983; February 1983; February 1984; May
1984; August 1984; November 1984; December 1984; January 1985;
March 1985; June 1985; July 1986; October 1986; November 1986;
December 1986; January 1987; February 1987; March 1987; June
1987
- Bride's: June/July 1985 December
1985/January 1986
- Good
Housekeeping November 1954[24]
- Art and
Antiques Magazine: January 1985; May 1985 (home of Theodore
Roosevelt)
- House
Beautiful: May 1978; February 1987; September 1987;
November 1987; December 1987; January 1988; February 1988;
September 1988; October 1988; March 1989; June 1989; July 1989
(cover); April 1990; v.133 1991 (Jan-Jun)
- House & Garden:
August 1977; June 1981; February 1982; March 1982; September 1982;
December 1982; January 1983 (home of Jean Vanderbilt); December
1983 (home of Dolly and F. Burrall Hoffman in
Florida) ; January 1984 (home of Mercedes and Francis L.
Kellogg); February 1984 (home of Gloria Vanderbilt; July 1984 (home of
Janet Lee
Bouvier Auchincloss Morris); October 1984 including cover (home
of Ralph Lauren);
December 1984 (home of Helen Hayes; March 1985; Septermber 1985;
(home of Suzie
Frankfurt); November 1985; March 1986 (home of Mr. & Mrs.
David T. Johnston); April 1986 (home of Boaz Mazor); August 1986;
March 1987 (home of Mrs. F. Burrall Hoffman); June 1990;
March 1991 (home of Robert Denning and Vincent
Fourcade); March 1991 (home of Lord and Lady Wedgwood)
- Home: February 1989
- Maison & Jardin: April 1983; December/January 1986
- #319
- Vogue Decoration: September 1985 - #3; September 1986
- #7; September 1987 - #11; October/November 1989 - #22;
October/November 1990 - #28
- Look, Shaggy Lamb
Fashion, 21 January 1969[25]
- The New York Times
Magazine, Home Design Special, 9 September 1979; 8 May
1983; 14 April 1985; "Design; As the Room Turns" by Carol Vogel, 31
January 1988
- McCall's:
February, September, November 1951; March, July, November 1952 (all
covers); February 1958
- Ladies' Home Journal: October
1984; May 1985
- New York Magazine, December 19, 1988
(photographed his own apartment); April 10, 1989 (home of Paul Silverman); September 25, 1989 (home
of John Hutton)
- After Dark: Pastorale: A
Photo Essay pp. 60–65, August 1975
- Art Direction, v.12 1960-61
(Dec-Mar)
- Photography: February 1952 (cover)
- Popular Photography:
v.60 1967 Jan-Jun
- Women's Wear Daily: September
25, 1981 (section cover)
- W:
Summer Is... May 25–June 1, 1979; Temptations June 22–June 20,
1979; Eating In September 28–October 5, 1979; In a city high-rise:
Low-key chic March 27–April 3, 1981; Temptations June 19–June 26,
1981; The Pleasures of Italy August 28–September 4, 1981; The
Pleasures of Simple Food October 23–October 30, 1981; W Christmas
November 20–November 27, 1981
Books
Books that have been illustrated with de Evia's photography
include:
- The American Annual of Photography, New York: American
Photography Book Department, 1953.
- Good Housekeeping Book of Home Decoration by Mary L.
Brandt, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1957.
- Picture Cookbook by The Editors of LIFE, Mary Hamman, Editor,
New York, NY: Time Incorporated, 1958. Second edition 1959, Third
edition 1960.
- The Spacemaker Book by Ellen Liman, Nancy Stahl and
Lewis Wilson, New York: Viking Press, 1977.
- Fashion: The Inside Story by Barbaralee Diamonstein,
New York: Rizzoli, 1985
- House & Garden's Best in Decoration by the Editors
of House
& Garden, New York: Condé Nast Books, Random House, 1987.
De Evia's photos include the front jacket.
- Glamour's On The Run by Jane Kirby, Glamour
Food Editor, New York: Condé Nast Books, Villard Books, 1987. De
Evia's photos include the front & back jacket.
- Interior Design by John F. Pile, New York: H.N.
Abrams, 1988.
- The Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook by John Loring, New York:
Doubleday, 1992.
- House Beautiful Decorating Style by Carol Cooper
Garey, Hearst Books, 2005. 1992 edition published by Hearst
Communications.
- Victoria On Being a Mother by Victoria Magazine Staff,
Hearst Books, 2005. (1st. edition and ©1989)
- Culinary Traditions II: A Taste of Waynesboro,
Pennsylvania collected by the Waynesboro Historical Society,
Morris Press, 2007.
Commercial photography
Gallery
The Little Church Around the Corner (The Episcopal Church of the
Transfiguration, NYC)
|
de Evia's companion and business partner from 1966 until his
death, David McJonathan-Swarm, in a 1968 de Evia's picture.
|
|
A male nude, taken in the 1970s.
|
Professional model Dovima,
in an 1950s ad.
|
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.[34]
Death
Edgar de Evia, age 92, died at St.
Vincent's Hospital in New York City from pneumonia following a broken hip.[35] His
ashes were interred in the columbarium of the Little
Church Around the Corner in New York City.[36]
References
- ^
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).
- ^
http://www.congresoyucatan.gob.mx/interes/HISTORIA/congreso_constituyente1.htm,
http://www.merida.gob.mx/ayunta2004/InformesMensuales/Gobernacion/2004/diciembre/normatividad.pdf,
and http://www.yucatan.gob.mx/servicios/diario_oficial/diarios/2006-08-18.pdf.
The quote is taken from "Tourism 'Wars' in the Yucatan", which is
posted on the website of the American Anthropological Association
at http://www.aaanet.org/press/an/infocus/Heritage_In_Focus/Castaneda.htm.
The article was written by Quetzil E. Castaneda, an affiliate
assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Washington
and the founding director and professor of The Open School of
Anthropology and Ethnography.
- ^
[1]. According to
Oden and Olivia Meeker, "Awesome Mayaland", The New York Times, 28
November 1948, p. X15, Don Fernando Barbachano Peon -- a grandson
of Miguel Barbachano y Tarrazo and therefore a first cousin of de
Evia's father -- was the first Yucatecan entrepreneur to establish
a hotel next to Chichen Itza, which stands on land co-owned by the
family, and develop tours of it and other Mayan ruins for foreign
tourists. The family's tourism development and co-ownership of the
land under Chichen Itza and other Mayan ruins is examined by
Quetzil E. Casteneda on the website of the American Anthropological
Association's, http://www.aaanet.org. The
Barbachano's involvement in the development of Rosarito is traced
in Jenna Cavelle's 2005 article for the San Diego Union,
"The Colorful City of Rosarito Celebrates the 80th Anniversary of
the Rosarito Beach Hotel", which is posted at http://www.rosarito.com/rs-resortwatch.htm.
- ^
According to the ship's manifest, which can be accessed at http://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.
- ^
The head of the Dalton School Alumni Office confirmed this date of
graduation by telephone on 28 August 2006; http://www.dalton.org.
- ^
According to http://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.
- ^
New England Journal of
Homeopathy - Classical Homeopathy Articles & Reviews
- ^
"Color in Review: Popular Photography's Color Annual Surveys
Medium's Current Status", The New York Times, 19 May 1957, page
X17
- ^
Advertising Directions by Edward M Gottschall and Arthur
Hawkins, New York: Art Directions Book Co., 1996.
- ^
"about Photography with Edgar de Evia" by William A. Reedy, p. 16
Studio Light/Commercial Camera v.2 no. 2 1970.
- ^
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, http://www.sokolsky.com.
For reference to his work for Vogue and other publications, see Sokolsky interview
- ^
According to David McJonathan-Swarm, who was de Evia's companion
and business partner from 1966 until 2003.
- ^
According to former art director Marty Stevens, as quoted in the De Evia website guestbook
- ^
Edgar de Evia Archives, New York City, New York. Scholars who wish
to access this archive for research purposes can contact the
executor of de Evia's estate through the email address listed at
deevia.com.
- ^
Edgar de Evia Archives, New York City, New York
- ^
Edgar de Evia Archives, New York City, New York
- ^
De Evia's photographic portrait of Totenberg is featured in the
article "Among the Week's Recitalists", The New York Times, 28
March 1948, p. X7. He is the father of National Public Radio legal
affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg.
- ^
1978 photograph featured in the article "New York Look - Saturday
in the Park with Ralph" by Jada Yuan & Amy Odell, New
York, 26 November 2007 onlineretrieved 31
December 2007
- ^
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. The Condé Nast Publication
Library is an archive facility which holds, among other things,
thousands of typewritten 3 x 5 cards which serve as an early index
to all photographers and writers (as well as subjects and
celebrities) whose work was published in any and all Condé Nast
magazines from the early 1900s until the 1990s, when all such
material was put on computer. In the case of photographers, for
instance, the cards list in which issue and on which page number an
image (or images) by that particular photographer appeared on.
According to these index cards, more than 1,000 photographs by de
Evia were published in Condé Nast magazines, on subjects ranging
from fashion to food to interiors. These were printed in Vogue,
Architectural Digest, and other magazines, from the 1950s until the
1990s.
- ^
Confirmed via holdings of Town & Country at the New York Public
Library, Research Division, New York City, New York
- ^
Condé Nast Publications Library, New York City, New York
- ^
Condé Nast Publications Library, New York City, New York
- ^
"Vincent Fourcade - CELEBRATING THE PLEASURES OF MAGNIFICENT
EXCESS", by Mitchell Owens, Architectural Digest, January
2000, v. 57 #1, p. 169 – one of twenty five persons named by the
magazine "Interior Design Legends".
- ^
The Petticoat
Craze retrieved August 28, 2006
- ^
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
- ^ a
b
c
d
e
f
Edgar de Evia Archives, New York City, New York
- ^
Ad Lady Borden New Black Cherry Crisp Saturday Evening Post, 30 January 1960
- ^
"full page advertisement in the [[The New Yorker] featured
in The Professional Photographer v.80 October 19,
1953
- ^
Annual of Advertising, Editorial, Television Art &
Design v. 34
- ^
McCall's v. 79
no. 10
- ^
Ad_W0QQitemZ230067461496QQihZ013QQcategoryZ37835QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
copy of ad for sale on eBay retrieved November 11, 2007
- ^
Harper's
Bazaar, September 1952
- ^
McCall's January and
February 1958
- ^
Mitchell Owens, Robert Denning, Champion of Lavish Décor,
The New
York Times, 5 September 2005, page B7
- ^
Information from de Evia's companion, David McJonathan-Swarm,
executor of the photographer's estate
- ^
Confirmed by Little
Church Around the Corner
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