The Soul of Monmouthshire Newport, 1851. A child is born into the landscape that will eventually define his entire creative existence. John Arthur Evans grows up amidst the valleys of Monmouthshire, a place where the geological bones of the earth are visible in limestone cliffs and winding riverbeds. This is not merely a backdrop for him; it is the primary subject of a lifelong devotion. His early training at the Newport School of Art brings him under the influence of William Dyce. The presence of a painter so closely tied to the Pre-Raphaelite aesthetic introduces Evans to a specific way o…