The artist Evelyn Gorkiewicz (also known as Countess Eveline Alice Wanda Gorkiewicz) came from a Polish noble family, sealing with the Habdank coat of arms, who found refuge in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. She was born in 1878. She was the daughter of Marceli T. Górkiewicz, a Polish insurgent who plotted against the Russians. During the Crimean War, he fought under the command of Michał Czajkowski. The painter's father came to Turkey after the January Uprising. He married Helena van Lennep, who came from a Dutch family that had lived there for a long time. Through family connections, the Górkiewicz family met the discoverer of Troy, Henryk Schliemann. It is said that Marceli Górkiewicz also took part in the excavations. The couple lived to see eight offspring.

Interestingly, one of their daughters, Evelyn, lived in Constantinople and was adopted by distant relative Alice Whitaker and her husband Edgar. During the First World War, Evelyn devoted herself to the care of British prisoners of war, helping several soldiers to escape. A recorded testimony to her bravery has also survived. In an article after her death, a POW rescued by her stated that: "putting herself at grave risk, she visited the writer of these words one September afternoon when, as a fugitive, he was hiding in a squalid house in a shabby quarter of Constantinople. She brought us what we needed most: money, important vital information and very sensible advice, and - typical of her politeness - organised clean clothes for us." Her dedication was read as madness by some locals, so, the reporter went on to write, "Against all sorts of difficulties she experienced and constant discouragement from her friends she (Evelyn - note RB) boldly championed the cause of the prisoners in the dark days of 1916 and 1917. She was the good angel of the British in Constantinople".

For one, Evelyn's care was particularly important as he decided to return to Constantinople to ask for her hand in marriage. The author of the watercolour album became the wife of Sir Robert Paul. The couple stayed for some time in Beirut, where Evelyn's younger brother Marcel de Gorkiewicz was living at the time. For unknown reasons, family relations were not maintained and in later life Marcel claimed that he had no sister named Evelyn. The artist then settled in Ireland at Ballyglan, near Waterford. Her involvement in helping British soldiers is described in one of Francis Yeats-Brown's books. Evelyn died in Ireland in May 1963.

Little is known about her work, unfortunately her works are scattered and only a few are in public collections. Exceptions include two watercolours in London's Victoria and Albert Museum ('Easter Sunday 5 April 1896 with H.M.S. 'Dryad' and 'View from the Reading Room of the Constantinople Club'). Both were produced in the same year, depicting views of Constantinople. They probably entered the institution's collection in the 1960s. The Orientalist works are small in size 34.6 cm x 15.6 cm. They are very similar in style to the watercolours recently exhibited in 2023/2024 at the Muzem Meşher in the Beyoğlu (formerly Pera) district of Istanbul. This exhibition showcased rare works from the private collection of one of Turkey's richest men, Ömer Koç. He also owns an album of watercolours by Evelyn Górkiewicz. One could see the album open with a watercolour depicting the view from Hamam Aga on the last day of 1895. The album was created between May 1895 and January 1896. It currently contains 26 watercolours and pen drawings.