Robert Evans Creer

Epithet: Artist (1838-1915)

Biography: Robert Evans Creer was a Manx artist born in Ramsey, 1838. Active in the Victorian era, the artist captured the Manx landscapes of the time, preserving many of its rural ways forever. Creer’s country scenes also feature ordinary Manx people - walking along lanes; passing on a country cart; and, in one case, a man working on a lawn wearing an eye-catching pair of braces.

Most of Creer’s scenes are based in the north of the island, however, the artist also produced some watercolours from the likes of Snowdonia, the River Dee and Ilfracombe on the Devon coast – presumably having been able to travel to England and Wales at some point in his career.

Creer preferred the medium of watercolour to produce his somewhat naïve paintings, which exude a freshness and innocence in subject matter and execution which transport the bystander right to the scene. Although he was never professionally trained as an artist, Creer was an enthusiastic and prolific artist on the island and his fascinating visual record of the Isle of Man in the 19th century provide remarkable insights into Manx life.
The artist died in 1915. Manx National Heritage holds over 100 of Creer’s artworks in its collections, including a variety of rural and coastal scenes.

Occupation / profession: artist

Gender: Male

Date of birth: 1838

Date of death: 1915

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