Jean Bowman 60 Years Retrospective Art Exhibition
Please join us for the Retrospective Art Exhibition of Jean Bowman. Admission: Complimentary for Life and Annual Members and $5.00 for non-Members. Sept. 14 to Oct. 27, 2024 (Friday through Sunday, 12-4 pm or by special appointment at [email protected].
BIOGRAPHY OF JEAN BOWMAN
(1917-1994)
Jean Eleanor Bowman is renowned throughout the equestrian world as one of its foremost artists, depicting horses, hounds, horse people, and horse sports.
Jean’s notable works include paintings of the famous Secretariat and many other racetrack and steeplechase winners, as well as hunting horses and riders. She worked with various mediums such as pen and ink, and pastels, but most of her sketches and paintings were in oils. She rarely painted from photographs, preferring to “see for herself.” Her training in New York and Boston emphasized classical techniques focusing on attitude, color, composition, light and style. She was particularly known for her attention to the conformation of the horse.
Much of Jean’s work was commissioned, which often required extensive travel to discuss potential projects and conduct studies. Many of Jean’s works are housed in prestigious collections and horse museums, such as The National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, the Museum of Hounds and Hunting North America in Middleburg and Leesburg, the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga, and the Laurel Clubhouse.
Notable pieces include a presentation fixture for Queen Elizabeth II of her racehorse Hopeful Venture and the emblem designs for the Pony Club and the Museum of Hounds and Hunting North America. Her paintings can be found in the collections of prominent figures such as Paul Mellon, Richard K. Mellon, Walter Chrysler, Walter Jeffords, Robert Kleberg, John Hay Whitney, George Widener, the Duchess of Westminster, and Peggy Hennessy.
Jean also participated in numerous exhibitions, including shows at the Voss Galleries in Boston, Scott & Fowles Galleries, the Grand Central Galleries and the Knoedler Gallery in New York, the Tyrone Gallery and Ackermann’s in London, the oldest sporting gallery in the world, where she was the first American painter to be exhibited.
Black and white photographs of 64 of her works appeared on the covers of The Chronicle of the Horse between 1945 and 1968. Subsequently, photographs of her work appeared in the pages of the Maryland Horse and British Racehorse magazines, with color photographs featured on the covers of Virginia Country and The Spur magazines.
Jean Illustrated one book, KNOW ABOUT HORSES, written by Harry Disston and published in 1961. Replete with pen and ink drawings of horses and all matter of related tack and equipment, it offers a sometimes whimsical look at the horse world and its many iterations.
Born in 1917 in Mount Vernon, New York, she attended the Spence School in New York City and Bronxville High School in Bronxville, New York.
According to The Chronicle in its September 9, 1944, issue, her training included studies at the Art Students League in New York. Who’s Who states she studied at the Grand Central Art School with Jerry Farnsworth, the National Academy of Design with Leon Knoll, and in Boston with Scott Kerby. She first became noticed as an artist in the early 1940’s by The Chronicle when she was living in Ruxton, Maryland.
In 1945, Jean moved to Middleburg, Virginia, from Ruxton, Maryland, and then to Clarke County, Virginia in 1946, residing principally at “Lucky Hit” in White Post, where she had her studio and horses. In the early 1970’s, she moved back to Fauquier and Loudoun Counties, restoring an 1860’s dwelling called “Bonnie Castle” outside the village of Unison near Middleburg, Virginia and adding a studio.
In 1980, Jean co-founded and served as the first president of the American Academy of Equine Art, later serving as chairman of the board and instructing in its workshops. The Academy currently gives an annual Jean Bowman Award for Excellence in Classical Equine Art.
Jean tragically died in a small plane crash near Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, on August 16, 1994. She was married four times: to Richard Pentecost, Alexander Mackay-Smith, John Magruder III, and Charles Morgan. She is survived by her son, John H. Pentecost of Poolesville, Maryland, and his two children, Jason, and Victoria.
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Biography drawn largely from “Jean Bowman, Artist, Clarke County” by Stuart E. Brown, Jr.; Virginia Book Company, Berryville, VA; published 2000, and edited by John Pentecost.
