Bowerman’s Nose, Dartmoor, Devon, by William Widgery (1822-1893). 1868. Oil on canvas. Collection: Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Exeter. Accession no. H 91.4 x W 71.9 cm. Accession no. K244, bequeathed by Kent and Jane Kingdon, 1892.
Among the various stony outcrops and piled boulders on the moors are some particularly distinctive ones that have been given names. One of these is Bowerman's Nose, "said to have been named after a bowerman or builder, who lived nearby at Manaton. Certainly it does have an
uncanny resemblance to a human profile" (Mudd 34). Widgery shows it garlanded by windswept bushes, with mossy stones and moorland vegetation all around, vividly silhouetted against the last gleams of daylight on the distant skyline. Drifting clouds, and a line of birds on the wing, animate the background.
Image download and text by Jacqueline Banerjee. The image is available on Art UK under the terms of a Creative Commons zero licence (CC0).
Bibliography
Bowerman’s Nose, Dartmoor, Devon. Art UK. Web. 21 April 2024.
Mudd, David. Dartmoor Reflections. Bodmin: Bossiney Books, 1993.
Created 21 April 2024