 Seated at their piano, Walter and Linda Evans pay homage to Romare Bearden’s The Piano Lesson, shown behind them in their Savannah home. |
Walter O. Evans, a distinguished surgeon and bibliophile, is widely regarded as one of the nation’s foremost collectors of African American art. His collection contains work that spans more than a century of vision and creativity and is an expression of his commitment to the importance of cultural heritage.
Beginning in 1979 with Evans’ first major purchase, which was a portfolio of silkscreen prints by Jacob Lawrence, “The Legend of John Brown,” The Walter O. Evans Collection now includes more than 200 original paintings and sculptures representing the work of both 19th- and 20th-century African American artists. The collection also includes work by artists such as Edward Bannister, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Robert Duncanson, Richard Hunt, Mary Edmonia Lewis, Henry O. Tanner and Charles White.
Along with the art collection, Evans has collected first-edition books, manuscripts, documents and letters written by leading African American authors, artists and political figures.
Evans was featured in Art and Antiques magazine in 1991, 1992 and 1993 as one of "America’s Top 100 Collectors." Among his many affiliations, he is president of the Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation and is an officer and board member of the Margaret Walker Alexander Research Center and the Telfair Museum of Art. Evans serves as a member of the Savannah College of Art and Design Board of Visitors.”