Howard Blashki (1901-1915)
He was born in New York City to a Jewish father and an English mother, both of whom were originally from Australia.
Philip Howard Francis Dixon Evergood (1915-1973)
His father, Miles, changed the family\’s surname from Blashki to Evergood. It also appears that he also included the names Phillip, Francis, and Dixon to his son\’s name. His father did not want to continue holding onto a name that sounded \”foreign.\” The new surname was said to have been suggested to Miles by Winston Churchill, who was First Lord of the Admiralty at the time, in a letter, responding to Miles\’ concern that the Jewish surname would be enough to deny his son\’s entry into the Royal Navy Training College.
His early childhood was spent with music lessons, which resulted in playing in concerts all the way to the United Kingdom. There, he was educated at Cambridge University and Eton University. In 1921, he left Cambridge and went to study art at Slade School. Like his father, Phillip would become an artist.
After traveling back and forth between New York City and Europe, Evergood eventually returned to New York City to work on a canvas depicting the homeless men that he encountered. From that point, he made art that had a political message, which was to depict the downtrodden and those abandoned by society. Another example was a painting of black people being killed or hiding from white mobs.
He anticipated starting to employ his art skills in the army, but was denied. Although he was suspected of being a Communist, the charges did not ruin his reputation.
He passed away in 1973.
Sources
Fontoj
- DeBisschop, Dorothy (April 26, 2011). \”One Time Oxford Resident Was Renowned Controversial Artist\”. The Oxford Patch.
- Phillip Evergood. Wikipedia.