Sam Evans is a prolific artist with a talent for
being attuned to supernatural phenomena that he expresses on canvas. He
has been commissioned to do portraits of Burke Devlin and Barnabas Collins, though
Burke's was never completed, as he destroyed it. In
Episode 42, he tells Liz that Paul Stoddard had asked him to paint a portrait of him like that of Jeremiah Collins. His collection of work is often
displayed on his easel and throughout the studio in the cottage he shares with Maggie. While many paintings can be seen in the Evans' cottage, I will focus primarily on those that are prominently featured and appear most often. The titles of paintings are mine, unless otherwise noted.
Early Works
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| The first portrait we see of Sam's is the Old Man at the Docks in Episode 7. |
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| We also see Collinsport Docks for the first time in in Episode 7. |
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| Dead Marlin is seen behind Sam in in Episode 7. |
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| Burke comments on Maggie's Mother in Episode 22, when it is first identified. |
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| Collinsport Docks and Maggie's Mother on display in Episode 37. |
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| Old Man at the Docks with Sam's palette in Episode 37. |
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| A view of The Elderly Gentleman in his longstanding place of display in Episode 488. |
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| Nicholas Blair is interested in purchasing the Dead Marlin painting in Episode 559. |
Burke Devlin
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| Sam throws paint on the rough portrait of Burke Devlin in Episode 49. |
Betty Hanscombe
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| Close-up in Episode 60 of B. Hanscombe, who may have been related to a butler who had worked at Collinwood. |
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| Vicki finds the portrait of Betty Hanscombe, who looks uncannily like her in Episode 60. |
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| Sam gives Vicki the portrait of Betty Hanscombe in Episode 97. |
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| Roger and Liz oddly claim the portrait bears no resemblance to Vicki, though Carolyn says it looks exactly like her. |
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| Nicholas Blair picks up her portrait in Episode 541, though there is no comment on it during the episode. |
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| We can only guess that Vicki returned the portrait to Maggie after Sam's demise. |
Laura Collins the Phoenix
The first supernatural portrait Sam Evans is compelled to paint is that of Laura Collins the Phoenix in
Episode 133. While it disturbs him to paint her surrounded by flames, he can't seem to stop himself, and makes several versions, which seem to be imbued with a strange power. In
Episode 146, Laura puts a spell on Sam, which burns his hands, effectively ending his ability to paint her as the Phoenix. After Josette appears to complete the Phoenix portrait with David's face, Roger burns it in the fireplace in the drawing room.
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| Sam reveals his second attempt to Roger in Episode 137. |
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| Sam gives Vicki the painting, who gives it to David, which he hangs in his room in Episode 142. |
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| In Episode 142, Laura Collins' head floats out of the painting in David's room. |
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| Sam attempts to paint a seascape in Episode 142, but it turns into another Phoenix. |
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| In Episode 146, the painting mysteriously burns after Laura puts a spell on Sam, burning his hands. |
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| Josette's ghost appears in Episode 149 to complete the painting with David's face in the blank spot. |
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| The Phoenix's eyes glow strangely when Roger burns the portrait in Episode 149. |
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| The portrait of Josette in the Old House transforms to that of David and his mother in Episode 163. |
Barnabas Collins
Barnabas commissioned Sam to paint his portrait for $1,000 in
Episode 222. Sam worked in the evenings painting it at the Old House, but when nearly complete, took it home to finish, and delivered it to Barnabas in
Episode 255, who placed it over the mantel where Josette's portrait once hung.
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| Barnabas' portrait is complete and placed over the mantel at the Old House in Episode 255. |
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| A previously unseen sketch of Barnabas is revealed in Episode 599. |
Sarah Collins
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| Sam sketches Sarah when she shows up at the cottage to tell Sam where to find Maggie in Episode 260. |
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| Sam's sketch can be seen in Episode 276 when Dr. Woodard shows it to Maggie. |
Barnabas commissioned Sam to transform Angelique's portrait for $500 so it would appear that she had aged 200 years, in the hopes that it might get rid of her once and for all. Sam's artistic expertise, in addition to his affinity with the supernatural, seemed to provide him with success, and Angelique showed up at his doorstep in an advanced state of decay, demanding the portrait back. Unfortunately, Sam did not learn from his experience with the Phoenix, and after refusing her demands, found himself unable to see, leaving him helpless when she snuck back in and stole the portrait. He subsequently died in Episode 518, soon after experiencing Angelique's terrifying dream curse.
More of Sam Evans' work will be added as it appears on the show.
6 comments:
Always liked seeing Sam at his easel! You could also do a post on Charles Delaware Tate with his paintings of Quentin and Amanda Harris.
I will definitely do that when we come to those episodes. Thanks for commenting, NightOwl!
Absolute favourite entry thus far. Thank you!
I'm glad you like it! Thank you for your kind comment.
I've been a fan since the show aired and the "Dead Marlin" painting has driven me crazy for many years. I see the fish but can't make out the rest of the painting. I wish there were clear photos of these. Thanks for this informative look at the works of Sam Evans. Too bad we don't know who actually painted the many art works in Dark Shadows.
Christine, I would love to share with you a version of the docks in Collinsport - getting ready to varnish this morning and frame it as I finished it yesterday. It has a couple of slight variations from the original but pretty faithful to the original.
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