Stella Bowen
Encyclopedia
Esther Gwendolyn "Stella" Bowen (1893–1947) was an Australia
n artist, born in North Adelaide
in the southern part of the country
. As a young girl, Bowen enjoyed drawing and convinced her mother to allow her to study with Margaret Preston
. However, her desire to pursue art training in Melbourne
was thwarted by her mother's ill health and reluctance to let her daughter follow such a career.
with a return ticket and an allowance of £20 per month. In cosmopolitan London
, she studied at the Westminster School of Art
and mixed in the exhilarating company of writers, artists, poets and political activists.
Early in 1918, Bowen met and fell in love with the writer Ford Madox Ford
. She was twenty-four, he was forty-three. The couple fled to rural England where their daughter Julie was born in 1920. But by 1922 the family were fed up with the hardships of life in the English countryside and moved temporarily to France
. They soon decided to remain in France and moved to Paris
.
Caught up in the bohemian café society of Paris, Ford started a literary magazine and was a leading figure among the expatriate writers. Bowen, meanwhile, found her first studio but managed little time for painting in between attending to the needs of Ford and their daughter.
at the invitation of the poet Ramon Guthrie, who helped her in finding commissions including, among others, with Sinclair Lewis. When she returned to France she found she could not afford to remain in Paris and returned to England on her fortieth birthday.
Although Bowen continued to paint she did not earn enough from painting and commissions to make ends meet and for many years supplemented her income by writing an art review column in the News Cronicle and teaching. Because of her relationship with Ford Maddox Ford she was given an advance to write a biography and produced Drawn from life : a memoir . This book came out to glowing reviews.
. Theaden Brocklebank, a producer with the Pacific service of the BBC and wife of William Keith Hancock, had arranged for Stella Bowen to record regular talks for Australian audiences about her wartime experiences. These talks provided Bowen with additional income during a difficult time and they resulted in the offer of the position of war artist.
Bowen's brief as a war artist was to depict the activities of the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) stationed in England. She also painted portraits of military commanders and Australian prisoners of war who had recently been repatriated from Europe. One of the first women artists to be appointed, Stella completed her last painting in 1947. She died later that year of colon cancer, having never returned to Australia.
Two portraits by Bowen are in the National Portrait Gallery collection, George Douglas Howard Cole and Dame Margaret Isabel Cole.
A painting of Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin
painted in 1944 is held by the Australian War Memorial
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist, born in North Adelaide
North Adelaide
North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands.-History:...
in the southern part of the country
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. As a young girl, Bowen enjoyed drawing and convinced her mother to allow her to study with Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston
Margaret Preston was a well-known Australian artist. She was highly influential during the 1920s to 1940s for her modernist works as a painter and printmaker and for introducing Aboriginal motifs into contemporary art.-Early life:...
. However, her desire to pursue art training in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
was thwarted by her mother's ill health and reluctance to let her daughter follow such a career.
Early career
When her mother died in 1914, Bowen left for EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with a return ticket and an allowance of £20 per month. In cosmopolitan London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, she studied at the Westminster School of Art
Westminster School of Art
The Westminster School of Art was an art school in Westminster, London. It was located at 18 Tufton Street, Deans Yard, Westminster, and was part of the old Architectural Museum.H. M. Bateman described it in 1903 as...
and mixed in the exhilarating company of writers, artists, poets and political activists.
Early in 1918, Bowen met and fell in love with the writer Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford
Ford Madox Ford was an English novelist, poet, critic and editor whose journals, The English Review and The Transatlantic Review, were instrumental in the development of early 20th-century English literature...
. She was twenty-four, he was forty-three. The couple fled to rural England where their daughter Julie was born in 1920. But by 1922 the family were fed up with the hardships of life in the English countryside and moved temporarily to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. They soon decided to remain in France and moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Caught up in the bohemian café society of Paris, Ford started a literary magazine and was a leading figure among the expatriate writers. Bowen, meanwhile, found her first studio but managed little time for painting in between attending to the needs of Ford and their daughter.
Later years
Bowen separated from Ford in 1927. It was a difficult time for her but it did give her the time and space to pursue her art. She began to gain some portrait commissions but still struggled to earn enough money. In 1932, she went to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the invitation of the poet Ramon Guthrie, who helped her in finding commissions including, among others, with Sinclair Lewis. When she returned to France she found she could not afford to remain in Paris and returned to England on her fortieth birthday.
Although Bowen continued to paint she did not earn enough from painting and commissions to make ends meet and for many years supplemented her income by writing an art review column in the News Cronicle and teaching. Because of her relationship with Ford Maddox Ford she was given an advance to write a biography and produced Drawn from life : a memoir . This book came out to glowing reviews.
World War Two - war artist
The Second World War brought a new chapter in Stella's career. In 1944, she was appointed an official war artist by the Australian War MemorialAustralian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
. Theaden Brocklebank, a producer with the Pacific service of the BBC and wife of William Keith Hancock, had arranged for Stella Bowen to record regular talks for Australian audiences about her wartime experiences. These talks provided Bowen with additional income during a difficult time and they resulted in the offer of the position of war artist.
Bowen's brief as a war artist was to depict the activities of the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF) stationed in England. She also painted portraits of military commanders and Australian prisoners of war who had recently been repatriated from Europe. One of the first women artists to be appointed, Stella completed her last painting in 1947. She died later that year of colon cancer, having never returned to Australia.
Two portraits by Bowen are in the National Portrait Gallery collection, George Douglas Howard Cole and Dame Margaret Isabel Cole.
A painting of Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin
Ragnar Colvin
Admiral Sir Ragnar Musgrave Colvin KBE, CB was a long-serving British naval officer who commanded the Royal Australian Navy at the outbreak of the Second World War.-Early life and background:...
painted in 1944 is held by the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
External links
- Rebels, Stella Bowen Interview by George Negus of Suzanne Brookman, Stella Bowen's niece, and Lola Wilkinson, Curator of the Australian War Memorial exhibition 21/10/2002
- Australian Artist - Stella Bowen Canadian War Museum (Retrieved 23-July-2007)