Gretta Bowen

Margretta Bowen, best known as Gretta Bowen (1 January 1880–8 April 1981) was a self-taught Irish artist. She only started painting late in life, after her sons Arthur and George Campbell were already established as artists.[1]

Margretta 'Gretta' Bowen
Born1 January 1880
Dublin, Ireland
Died8 April 1981
Belfast
NationalityIrish

Early life

Born in Dublin, Margetta Bowen lived most of her life in Belfast.[2] She was married to Matthew Campbell, a veteran of the Boer War. They had three boys Arthur, George and Stanley, who all went on to paint.[3] After her husband died in 1925 she ran an laundrette and took in lodgers to make ends meet.

Career

Bowen came to art late in her life. A few weeks before her seventieth birthday she found paints left behind by her son Arthur and began to experiment. Just five years later her first exhibition was put on in the gallery of the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts. She would have exhibitions in Dublin and Belfast as well. In 1979, at the age of 99, her works gained international fame. She exhibited at the International Naives exhibition in London.

Death

Bowen died in Belfast on 8 April 1981.

References
  1. Gretta Bowen. Accessed 12 January 2013
  2. Kate Newmann, Gretta Bowen (1880-1981), Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Accessed 12 January 2013.
  3. "Gretta Bowen". Culture Northern Ireland. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
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