Olwyn Bowey studied at the West Hartlepool School of Art and at the Royal College of Art, where she received a First Class Diploma, a continuation scholarship and a David Murray Landscape Scholarship.
She first exhibited at the Leicester Galleries, London, and contributed to group exhibitions at the Zwemmer Gallery, London in 1961 and the New Grafton Gallery, London in 1969. Initially interested in portraiture, she later moved to the countryside to concentrate on landscape and still-life, being particularly interested in the tradition of the artist plantsman. An exhibition on this theme, entitled Olwyn Bowey Drawings, was held in the Friends’ Room at the Academy in 2000. Nowadays, Bowey always works on the spot, often outdoors, but mostly in her greenhouse, which doubles as a studio.
Elected Royal Academician in 1975 (ARA 1970), Bowey is also an Honorary Member of the Royal West of England Academy and an Associate of the Royal College of Art. She lives and works in Sussex.
Born: 1936 in Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, England, United Kingdom
Nationality: British
Elected ARA: 24 April 1970
Elected RA: 24 April 1975
Elected Senior RA: 1 October 2011
Gender: Female
Preferred media: Painting
Olwyn Bowey RA
Crouch Farmhouse, Barlavington, 1980s
Soft-ground etching
Olwyn Bowey RA
Life Drawing of Old Woman, late 1960s
Pencil on wove paper
Olwyn Bowey RA
Back view of Carel Weight painting, ca. 1980s
Pencil on wove paper
Olwyn Bowey RA
May sitting on the Roof Garden, 1975
Oil on canvas
Olwyn Bowey RA
Portrait of Carel Weight, R.A., ca. 1976
Oil on board
Olwyn Bowey RA
Portrait of Humphrey Brooke, Esq, C.V.O., ca. 1961
Oil on board
Olwyn Bowey RA
Miss Oates, 1961
Oil on board
Olwyn Bowey RA
Welsh farm, ca. 1960s
Pencil on wove paper
Olwyn Bowey RA
Interior of a greenhouse, c. 1955
Gouache and watercolour over pencil on paper
Olwyn Bowey RA
2016 Academicians in Focus, Royal Academy of Arts, London
2000 Olwyn Bowey Drawings, Friends’ Room, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1969 New Grafton Gallery, London
1961 Zwemmer Gallery, London
Arts Council
Carlisle Museum and Art Gallery
Tate Gallery