Portrait of Beatrice in a hat. 1901. Pencil on grey paper; inscribed "Beatrice, Sept 6/01," lower left; 7 x 4 1/2 inches (17.7 x 11.5 cm). Private collection.
This drawing from 1901 shows that Bowler continued to be an artist even following his retirement from his administrative post as Assistant Director of Art at the National Art Training School at South Kensington. The informal nature of this portrait suggests it could be of a family member, perhaps a granddaughter, or the granddaughter of a friend. The handling of this drawing may have been influenced by Van Dyck's famous series of etchings of friends and fellow artists from the late 1620s and early 1630s, published under the title Iconographia. In his trial proofs Van Dyck drew the heads in detail while the area of the torso was very loosely handled. This same series had inspired James McNeill Whistler's similar etchings of friends and associates done in 1859-60, such as his famous portrait of the sculptor C. L. Drouet.
Created 24 July 2024