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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

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Self portrait

c. 1934
Stella Bowen

oil on cardboard (frame: 60.0 cm x 49.6 cm, support: 49.5 cm x 39.1 cm)

Stella Bowen (1893–1947), artist and writer, was born in Adelaide and was in her teens when she persuaded her mother to permit her to take art lessons. She began studying under Margaret Preston at the School of Design around 1910. Following her mother’s death in 1913, Bowen decided to leave Adelaide – a place she later described as ‘a queer little backwater of intellectual timidity’ – and pursue a career as an artist in Europe. She arrived in London in 1914, later enrolling at the Westminster School of Art and becoming part of a circle of artists and writers that included TS Eliot, Ezra Pound and WB Yeats. She met the English novelist Ford Madox Ford in 1917 and began a relationship with him that lasted nine years during which her own work was often accorded second place to Ford’s. Their daughter, Julia, was born in 1920. In France from 1922, Bowen painted landscapes and portraits of friends and family, becoming dependent on her painting for an income when her relationship with Ford ended. Bowen travelled to the USA in 1932, completing a number of portrait commissions there before returning to Europe and spending the remainder of the decade eking out a living with painting, reviewing and teaching in England and France. Her memoir, Drawn from life, appeared in 1941. In 1944, she became the second woman appointed an official war artist and was tasked with depicting the activities of the RAAF in England and the return of prisoners of war from Germany. In this role, Bowen produced a total of forty-six works, including Bomber Crew (1944), a group portrait completed from sketches she made prior to the seven-strong crew’s departure on a mission from which six men did not return. Her last commission as a war artist was a depiction of George VI saluting troops on Victory Day in London in 1946. Bowen was gravely ill with cancer when she completed the painting in 1947. Wishing to return to Australia but lacking her fare, she sought, unsuccessfully, to be repatriated on a troop ship. Bowen died in England in October 1947.

Purchased 2003

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Stella Bowen (age 41 in 1934)

Subject professions

Visual arts and crafts

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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

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