William Roos (1808-1878)
Reverend Christmas Evans (1766-1838)
1835
oil on canvas
Born on Christmas Day at Esgaer-waen near Llandysul in Cardiganshire, Christmas Evans was a renowned Baptist minister and one of the most powerful preachers in Wales. He was ordained into the Baptist Church in 1789. In 1791, he took charge of the Anglesey Baptists and in 1802 he restarted the North Wales Baptist Association. A man of great physical presence - reputedly 7ft tall - he had lost an eye in a fight in his youth, and the empty socket was sewn shut. He was an evangelical 'fire-and-brimstone' revivalist, who attracted large congregations with his thundering sermons.
The artist William Roos was born at Bodgadfa in Anglesey and enjoyed local success as a portraitist and painter of animals. In this painting, his best known work, he captures the powerful physical presence of Evans.
Purchased, 1907
NMW A 2410