John Dowie AM (1915–2008), artist and teacher, is best known for his public sculptures held in most Australian capital cities. Born in Prospect, South Australia, he began studying at the South Australian School of Art at the age of ten. Dowie first exhibited works with the Royal South Australian Society of Arts in 1933. After serving in the Army in the early years of the war, he joined the military history section of the Department of War Records, where he worked with fellow sculptor Lyndon Dadswell. In 1950 he travelled to London, attending Sir John Cass College and studying sculpture at Porta Romana College and Accademia in Florence. From 1954 onward, while lecturing at the South Australian School of Art, he completed many commissions, including pieces depicting HM Queen Elizabeth II, Lloyd Rees and Sir Zelman Cowen. He was president of the South Australian School of Art from 1960 to 1964. His public sculptures include Adelaide's Three Rivers Fountain (1968), Governor Lachlan Macquarie (1973) in Sydney, and the Downer Memorial Fountain (1964) in Canberra. They can also be found at in Mawson Base in Antarctica, Scheveningen in The Netherlands, the Australian Embassy in Washington DC and Windsor Castle, London.
