Evan Wilson was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In 1971 he enrolled at the prestigious North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Maryland Institute College of Art, where he met his lifelong mentor, Joseph Sheppard, an internationally acclaimed realist painter in the Old World tradition. After college, Wilson studied at the Schuler School of Fine Arts in Baltimore where, in 1978, he was awarded the Greenshields Foundation Grant to study in Florence, Italy. For nearly fourty years, Wilson has worked as a professional artist in the venerable realist tradition, evolving a painting style that acknowledges the past while capturing the present. Remaining true to his mission to bring realist painting back into the forefront of American art, Wilson displays the technical skill, confidence and bravura that is the result of years of international study. Whether he is painting an interior scene, a portrait or a still life, Wilson achieves a magnificent level of verisimilitude. He demonstrates an exquisite paint-handling ability; his rich color palette and talent for capturing light unite to striking effect. He has been praised for his masterful control of light and shadow, beautifully depicting their effects on figures and objects. The realism of his interior scenes is heightened by the sparkling reflection on silver pitcher, or by a rectangle of light across a table as it streams from an unseen window. His portraits reveal a personal, un-idealized expression of his subjects. They exude a sensual quality, often featuring figures dressed in or reclining upon sumptuous fabrics so meticulously rendered the viewer can almost feel the texture, sense their opulence. Wilson’s paintings are an invitation to dive into the beauty of the world he depicts. "My love affair with exotic textiles started when I was a young art student, with my mentor, Joseph Sheppard. His teaching was all about the Old Masters of the 17th century. We were told to emulate artists like: Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt and van Dyck, as well as many of the great Italian masters like Michelangelo and Leonardo. It was while copying portraits in the National Gallery of Art in Washington that I became fascinated with their ability to capture the metallic glint of a button, or the intricate detail in the clothes worn by royalty, as they sat for their portraits. From the very beginning of my career, I have tried to incorporate beautiful textiles of this sort whenever the opportunity arises". –Evan Wilson Wilson’s paintings have won several prestigious honors and awards, including the Gold Medal of Honor from Knickerbocker Artists, the Macowin Tuttle Memorial First Prize Award from the Salmagundi Club, and the Alabama Arts Award presented by the University of Alabama’s Society for the Fine Arts in recognition of his artistic talent and ability to capture his Alabama heritage on canvas. Most recently, he was honored with the William Bouguereau Award for Emotion, Theme and the Figure in the 2006 Art Renewal Center’s Annual International Salon. In the last 30 years, Wilson has had group and solo exhibitions at numerous galleries and museums, and his paintings are in the public collections of the Royal Academy of Music in London, England; Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, Alabama; Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, South Carolina; the Gulf States Paper Corporation, Tuscaloosa, Alabama; the Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia; and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL. Nearly thirty of Wilson’s paintings are included in the collection of the Warner Westervelt Museum of Art, considered to be one of the finest collections of American art in the world. EducationNorth Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NCMaryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, MDSchuler School of Fine Arts, Baltimore, MD1978 Recipient of Greensheild's Foundation Grant to study in Florence, ItalySolo Exhibits2001 - Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL2000 - J.R. Leigh Gallery, Tuscaloosa, AL1997 - Bartlesville Community Center Gallery, Bartlesville, OK (Also 1986)John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA (Also 1995, 1990)1996 - Robert M. Hicklin, Jr., Fine Art, Inc., Spartanburg, SC (Also 1994)1994 - Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, VT1983 - National Arts Club, New York, NY1982 - La Prima Galleria, Altos de Chavon, Dominican Republic1979 - II Punto Gallery, Florence, ItalyGroup Exhibits2007 - LEGACY, A Tradition Lives On: "Four Generations of paintersand sculptors" Butler Institute of American Art, Salem OH2007 - Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH2007 - University Museum, University of Toledo, OH2007 - Alabama Originals: Classical Approaches, Alabama ArtsGallery of the Alabama State Arts Council2007 - The Art of History, Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC2000 - Group Exhibition, John Pence Gallery, San Francisco, CA (Also 1986-99)1997 - Group Exhibition, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY1996 - Gracious Plenty: Still Life Paintings from Southern Collections,Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, GA;Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL;Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, TN;Telfair Academy of Art, Savannah, GA1995 - Alabama Impact: Contemporary Artists with Alabama Ties,Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL;Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, ALEvan and Friends, J.R. Leigh Gallery, Tuscaloosa, ALGroup Exhibition, J.R. Leigh Gallery, Tuscaloosa, AL (Also 1983, 1987-89)1991 - Impressions of America: The Warner Collections of Gulf StatesPaper Corporation, MontgomeryMuseum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, AL1989 - The Food Show, Grand Central Art Gallery, New York, NYGroup Exhibition, Pierre's Gate, Manchester, VT1988 - Group Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY (Also 1984-87)Group Exhibition, Stevenson Gallery, Manchester, VTMid-Year Show, The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (Also 1986)1987 - Group Exhibition, Talisman Gallery, Bartlesville, OK (Also 1986)1986 - Group Exhibition, Knickerbocker Artists, New York, NY (Also 1985)Group Exhibition, O'Brian's Art Emporium, Scottsdale, AZPortrait Show, Francesca Anderson Gallery, Boston, MA1985 - Gallery Portrait Artists, Grand Central Art Gallery, New York, NYGroup Exhibition, McKenna Gallery, Charlotte, NCGroup Exhibition, National Arts Club, New York, NY (Also 1983-84)Group Exhibition, Portraits, Inc., New York, NY1984 - Founders Show, Grand Central Art Galleries,New York, NY (Also 1973-75, 1981-84)1980 - Group Exhibition, The Royal Portrait Society, London, England1976 - Group Exhibition, Washington Portraits, Inc., Washington, DC1974 - Group Exhibition, Charcoal Club, Baltimore, MD1973 - Group Exhibition, Maryland Institute, Baltimore, MDHonors & Awards2006 -William Bouguereau Award, for Emotion, Theme and the Figure, Art Renewal Center Annual International Salon.2006 - Chairman's Choice Award, Art Renewal Center Annual International Salon.1999 - Alabama Arts Award, The University of Alabama,Society of Fine Arts, Tuscaloosa, AL1987 - Macowin Tuttle Memorial First Prize, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY1986 - Gold Medal of Honor, Knickerbocker Artists, New York, NYJane Peterson Memorial Award, Salmagundi Club, New York, NYSalmagundi Club Prize, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY1985 - Alice B. McReynolds Award, Salmagundi Club, New York, NYDon Donaldson Memorial Award, Salmagundi Club, New York, NYKenneth Fitch Award, Salmagundi Club, New York, NYLee M. Loeb Memorial Award, Knickerbocker Artists, New York, NY1984 - Robert Bruce Stevenson Memorial Award for Portrait in Oil,National Arts Club, New York, NY1982 - Artist in Residence, Altos de Chavon, Dominican Republic1978 - Grant Recipient, Greenshields Foundation, Montreal, Quebec, CanadaPublic CollectionsUniversity of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, ALHuntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, ALGreenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SCGulf States Paper Corporation, Tuscaloosa, ALThe Fine Arts Center, Highlands, North CarolinaWarner Westervelt Museum of Young America, Tuscaloosa, AL