Frank Bowling
Encyclopedia
Richard Sheridan Franklin Bowling [Frank Bowling] OBE
(born 1936) is a Guyana
born British artist and is widely considered to be one of the most distinguished artists to emerge from post-war British art schools. His paintings relate to Abstract expressionism
, Color Field painting and Lyrical Abstraction
.
An abstract painter, he graduated from the Royal College of Art
in 1962 alongside avid Hockney]. At graduation, Hockney got the gold medal while Bowling was given the silver. Frank was tipped to win the gold but due to his controversial marriage to Royal College Registrar Paddy Kitchen, he was relegated to silver.
A move to New York exposed Bowling to his American contemporaries and soon won him a place in the 1971 Whitney Biennial
. Bowling spends part of each year between London and New York where he maintains studios.
Bowling's paintings are exhibited in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States and are included in major private and corporate collections worldwide. Bowling's work can also be seen in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and Museum of Modern Art
in New York
, as well as the Tate Gallery
in London.
On May 26, 2005 Bowling was elected a member of England's Royal Academy of Arts. Bowling was among about a dozen artists proposed to fill one of two vacancies in the eighty-member academy, and is the first Black Artist to be elected a Royal Academician in the history of the institution.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born 1936) is a Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
born British artist and is widely considered to be one of the most distinguished artists to emerge from post-war British art schools. His paintings relate to Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
, Color Field painting and Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction
Lyrical Abstraction is either of two related but distinctly separate trends in Post-war Modernist painting, and a third definition is the usage as a descriptive term. It is a descriptive term characterizing a type of abstract painting related to Abstract Expressionism; in use since the 1940s...
.
An abstract painter, he graduated from the Royal College of Art
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
in 1962 alongside avid Hockney]. At graduation, Hockney got the gold medal while Bowling was given the silver. Frank was tipped to win the gold but due to his controversial marriage to Royal College Registrar Paddy Kitchen, he was relegated to silver.
A move to New York exposed Bowling to his American contemporaries and soon won him a place in the 1971 Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
. Bowling spends part of each year between London and New York where he maintains studios.
Bowling's paintings are exhibited in Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States and are included in major private and corporate collections worldwide. Bowling's work can also be seen in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
and Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, as well as the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
in London.
On May 26, 2005 Bowling was elected a member of England's Royal Academy of Arts. Bowling was among about a dozen artists proposed to fill one of two vacancies in the eighty-member academy, and is the first Black Artist to be elected a Royal Academician in the history of the institution.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 Birthday Honours.