Artists Registry
Healdsburg CA United States
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Artist's Statement
Statement of Work
A PANORAMA RECAPTURED. From the time of its opening in 1971 to the close of the business day on September 10th, 2001, it is estimated that more than 46 million people visited the Top of the World Trade Center Observatory on the 107th floor of World Trade Center 2, the South Tower. On a clear day it presented visitors with a breathtaking panoramic view of New York City and the surrounding region extending 50 miles in all directions. Looking out through the tall vertical windows of the Observatory, one could see beneath them the buildings of Manhattan, and extending upwards to the curving horizon, an unparalleled vista that included New York's harbor, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Hudson River, the East River, the neighborhoods of Queens, Brooklyn, Long Island, New Jersey, and Staten Island, and the majestic North Tower.
The centerpiece of New York Full Circle is a remarkably detailed oil painting created by artist Christopher Leith Evans. In order to capture the full 360 degree panorama once seen from the Top of the World Trade Center Observatory on the 107th floor of the South Tower Evans chose as his "canvas" a twenty-four inch diameter acrylic sphere. It took him over six months to complete the painting. It is a landscape perspective that lifts viewers high up above city streets and transports them back through time.
New York Full Circle was first exhibited in 2002 as part of the New York Historical Society's "History Responds" show commemorating the anniversary of 9/11. Its title at that time was In The Light of Memory. During 2003 and 2004 it was exhibited in its own special installation space adjacent to the Historical Society's permanent collection.
The public response to New York Full Circle has been unanimously enthusiastic and positive. Articles, pictures, and reviews have appeared in many publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Long Island Newsday, New York Magazine, The New York Sun,
The New York Resident, and Crain's New York Business. Many letters of appreciation were received from those who had seen the show during its run at the New York Historical Society.
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Christopher Leith Evans was born in 1954 in Bremerton, Washington. He spent his childhood years on Long Island in the suburbs of New York City. After graduating from Bay Shore High School in 1972 he moved to Santa Monica, California, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his Master of Fine Arts degree from UCLA in 1980.
Evans" work is represented by the Fischbach Gallery in New York, and can be found in public and private collections throughout the United States and overseas. An expansive sky and deep horizon feature prominently as expressive compositional elements in his recent landscapes of the rolling hills, oak trees, and wide vistas of Northern California's Russian River valley. Past work has included views of New York's Chrysler building and a spherical view of Times Square.
Evans is the recipient of grants from the Ford Foundation and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. In 2004 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Academy of Art College, San Francisco. In 2006 he was a Guest Lecturer at the University of Southern California's Ryman Arts program.
Utilizing his skills as a realist painter Evans has also contributed scenes to numerous feature films as a Special Effects Matte Artist, winning an Emmy award in 1985, and an Academy Award nomination for Willow in 1989. He has also designed and produced historical paintings for National Geographic magazine and several museum projects.