Raymond Everett

     Raymond Everett was born in Englishtown, N.J. on August 10, 1885 of Sarah Ella (neé Polhemus) Everett and Charles Randle Everett, a Presbyterian minister. His early education was in the public schools of New Jersey. He obtained a bachelor of arts degree in 1906 from Drexel Institute in Philadelphia, where he studied under Howard Pyle, a well-known book and magazine illustrator.

     After obtaining his degree from Drexel Institute, he attended Harvard University for three years and graduated in 1909 with a bachelor of science in architecture. From there he went to Pennsylvania State College where he taught freehand drawing and painting in the Department of Architecture from 1909 to 1910.

     During the summer of 1910 he traveled in Europe, spending most of his time in the Mediterranean area. Everett made many notes and sketches, some of which he transferred to canvas and board.

     From 1910 to 1915 Everett was an instructor of Architecture at the University of Michigan. He wrote in the Harvard Alumni Magazine (1933), "I was one-third of the teaching staff." While teaching at the University of Michigan he met and married Isabelle Rizer.

     In 1915 the Everett's moved to Austin. Everett taught freehand drawing, painting, clay modeling and architectural history in the Department of Architecture at the University of Texas from 1915 until his death in 1948.

     In 1931 Everett obtained his masters degree in architecture from the University of Texas. For this he painted a frieze in oil entitled "The March of Progress in Texas." The frieze depicted the History of Texas by showing the various types of people who lived in Texas at different times. Everett did much research in obtaining data for showing the kinds of costumes and types of horses used by the people of Texas. The frieze was made to fill the upper part of four walls of one room in his home. After his death it was moved to the University Junior High School in Austin. In 1968 the frieze was transferred to the Webb Junior High School in Austin where it hangs in the school library.

     Raymond Everett was a creative artist who worked in several media. In his early years as a student at Drexel Institute and at Harvard, he developed his skill in pen and ink drawings. He used this skill during his entire career in designing greeting cards (copyright by Alfred Bartlett, Boston), book plates and commercial illustrations for magazines and posters. Some of the book plates he designed include: Art Institute of Chicago (1913); Free Public Library of Belmar New Jersey (1917);

Burton Historical Collection of the Detroit Public Library (1915); Martha Cook Building at the University of Michigan (1915); Lucius L. Hubbard Collection of Treasure Island (1916); Lucius L. Hubbard National Collection of Gulliver (1916); Austin Public Library (1926); former governor of Texas Pat M. Neff (1947). In 1919 he designed the title block for the Austin Statesman. In the years 1918 to 1920, Everett designed the covers for the "Texas Legionnaire" and "The Austin Rotary Revue."

     Everett painted landscapes and seascapes in watercolor, oil, and pastels. He experimented in various media for sculpture work including cement, plaster, and wood. He never worked with metal, but did design a number of works which were finished in wrought iron by other craftsmen.

     At his home at 903 West 31st Street in Austin he made many changes using his many skills. He built rock walls, excavated rooms in the basement, remodeled rooms, added rooms, carved the fireplace mantles, patio gate and newel posts, and hung paintings on nearly all the walls of his home.

     One of the crafts he enjoyed most was wood carving. During his career he carved several sets of chessmen, a number of plaques (two of which hang in the rotunda of the Union Building of the University of Texas - Harry Y. Benedict and Homer P. Rainey), many small boxes, a number of small chests, and several large chests, screens and many other items of furniture. The last wood carving he did before his death was the altar in St. Mary's Cathedral Church in Austin. During his lifetime he designed and carved several lecterns and pulpits for various churches in Austin.

     During the 33 years he lived in Austin, Everett made many weekend excursions into the hills west of Austin and to the Gulf Coast seeking new scenes to record on his canvas and board. During the summer vacations he made longer trips into Mexico where he found the colorful markets, rugged terrain, and distinctive architecture interesting subjects for his paintings. Often he took students with him on these excursions and trips.

     Everett was a man endowed with abundant physical endurance that served him well on his painting trips. He would sit for hours in the broiling sun at his easel sketching and painting. At his studio in the basement of his home he would later complete the details. He enjoyed living in Texas where the short winters permitted him to spend much of his spare time outdoors working on some form of creative art. When inclement weather or darkness kept him indoors, he worked on his paintings or wood carvings in his studio.

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