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James Bowman was an American itinerant artist and portrait painter. He was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Sometime between 1813 and 1815, James Bowman went to Chillicothe, Ohio, to learn to be a carpenter. There he met the itinerant painter Mr. J. T. Turner who taught him the rudiments of portrait painting (such as mixing paints). He gained considerable success when he started out professionally, painting in Pittsburgh and other communities in the early 1820s.〔 Gerdts, William H., ''Art Across America: Two Centuries of Regional Painting, 1710-1920'', New York: Abbeville Press, 1990, 284.〕 He traveled to Philadelphia to learn from the masters there, but as a beginning artist could not make a living in that more cosmopolitan and competitive environment and became an itinerant portrait painter instead.〔"Biography from the Western Press, James Bowman," ''Crawford Messenger'', May 24, 1827, vol. 5, no., 36, whole no. 244.reprinted from ''Cadet and Statesman'' published as ''Literary Cadet and Saturday Evening Bulletin'', January 27, 1827, 1, 41, 1.〕 James Bowman was the earliest professional artist in Erie, Pennsylvania, painting there in 1817.〔Gerdts (1990), p. 300.〕 According to Elizabeth Kelly, he painted portraits of the "early Erie aristocracy" and "… the fact that all of these prominent people had their portraits painted by Bowman indicates that they felt a real need to preserve their likenesses for posterity. The fact that Bowman spent such a brief time in Erie, however, indicates that during the early 1800’s, Erie had not yet advanced to a point where it could support a full-time portrait painter."〔Elizabeth K. Kelly, "Moses Billings," ''Journal of Erie Studies'' 9, no. 1 (Spring 1980), 18-19.〕 Bowman may also have visited Meadville,Pennsylvania seeking commissions near the same time.〔Gerdts (1990), p. 301.〕 An article in the ''Crawford Weekly Messenger'' for Thursday July 15, 1830, indicates that the "now celebrated Bowman" painted portraits in Meadville in 1816.〔"Portrait Painting," ''Crawford Messenger'', July 15, 1830. 〕 By 1822 Bowman was painting in the Washington, D.C. area. The biography reprinted from the ''Literary Cadet'' states how he hoped to become "patronized and protected by those guardians of the country—the members of congress…〔 That year he exhibited a ''Portrait of a Gentleman'' at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia〔Anna Wells Rutledge, ''Cumulative Record of Exhibition Catalogues : The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1807-1870, the Society of Artists, 1800-1814, the Artists' Fund Society, 1835-1845'', Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1979, 35.〕 and painted a portrait of Edward Stabler, a Quaker and apothecary in Alexandria, Virginia. Through a wealthy contact in Alexandria Bowman may have gained patronage with citizens of that town, including William Cranch, a judge and cousin of John Quincy Adams, whose portrait he painted. == European travel and study == Most of the outstanding portrait painters of this time were trained in Europe and Bowman felt if he was to have a career in art he needed access to additional training. An eloquent appeal for funds on Bowman’s behalf was made by "P.F." in an article in the ''Washington Gazette'' in March, 1822.〔"American Genius", The Washington City Gazette, ''The Columbian Star'' (1822-1829) March 23, 1822, 1:8, American Periodicals Series Online, 3.〕 Calling him an American genius and citing his humble upbringing, P.F. called upon the local citizens to support Bowman’s desire to travel to Europe. Most probably,Bowman arrived in London penniless and with few acquaintances. However, at some point he rented a room from a widow named Mrs. Walter Channing Bridgen at 2 Cleveland Street, Buckingham, a place where several American artists including Charles Robert Leslie (1794-1859), Washington Allston (1779-1843), Thomas Sully (1783-1872), Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872),and Charles Bird King (1785-1862) had previously lived or dined.〔Neal, John. "American Painters Abroad," ''Yankee and Boston Literary Gazette'', October, 1829, 181.〕 In addition Bowman was asked to paint "some of the most distinguished families in the kingdom, among which,were those of the Lord Chancellor, and of Gov. Clarkson of Woodbridge."〔"Biography" ''Souvenir''. (1827-1829) December 19, 1827,1,2〕 Another source describes these gentlemen as patrons of Bowman.〔 Although several sources indicate that Bowman was a student of Sir Thomas Lawrence while in London,〔Wilson, Erasmus ed., ''Standard History of Pittsburg Pennsylvania'', Chicago: H. R. Cornell & Company, 1898, 863〕〔J. Russell Harper, ''Early Painters and Engravers in Canad''a, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1970, 41〕〔"Mr. Bowman," ''The Patriot'', sec. V, no. 90, October 28, 1834.〕 there is little evidence that Bowman did study with Lawrence except for Bowman’s entry in ''Artists in Ohio 1787-1900'' which states that he "… received, by his own account, some lessons from Sir Thomas Lawrence in London."〔Haverstock, Mary Sayre and others, ''Artists in Ohio, 1787-1900: A Biographical Dictionary'', Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2000, 106.〕 According to Garlick,〔Lawrence, Sir Thomas and Kenneth Garlick, ''Sir Thomas Lawrence'', Boston: Boston Book & Art Shop, 1955, 17-18.〕 Sir Thomas Lawrence had paying pupils who received little training, but were allowed to make copies and ask for advice. It certainly appears Bowman met and became friends with several portrait and landscape artists working at the time in London. These included Charles Robert Leslie, Samuel F. B. Morse and Chester Harding (1792-1866). It is through Chester Harding’s diary kept during his first visit to England, selections of which were published in 1866 by his daughter, Margaret Eliot Harding White,that one learns some of the details of Bowman’s life in England and of his first visit to Paris.〔Harding, Chester and Margaret Eliot Harding White, ''My Egotistigraphy'', Cambridge, J. Wilson & Son, 1979.〕 By the winter of 1825 Bowman had moved to Birmingham when he stayed with the family of Mr. Van Wert, the brother-in-law of Washington Irving, and opened a gallery of paintings or studio there.〔 A footnote to a letter by Nathaniel Carter indicates that he met Bowman for a second time in the winter of 1827 in Paris and that Bowman was on his way to Italy "where a study of the great masters of that country, added to his native genius and self-acquired proficiency, cannot fail to render him eminent in his profession. He (Bowman) took a likeness of General LaFayette, which is in the highest degree creditable to his pencil."〔Carter, Nathaniel, ''Letters from Europe, Comprising the Journal of a Tour through Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Italy, and Switzerland in the Years 1825, '26, and '27'',New York, G. & C. Carvill, 1827, 356.〕 In contrast to Harding’s description of Bowman’s lack of recognition at the time at least two accounts indicate that he was spoken of highly by important artists and critical art journals. Sir Thomas Lawrence is quoted as saying "I do most sincerely believe that Bowman will, at no distant day, supply the vacuum, which has been caused, in the world of the arts, by the demise of our lamented West, and sustain the high reputation which that great master of our art, acquired not only for himself and his country, but for England and the age."〔 Sir Lawrence is said to have recommended Bowman to the Bishop of Worcester as "one of the few painters in the kingdom who could do complete justice to a portrait of that functionary".〔 The ''London Museum'' is mentioned as just one of the critical art journals which noticed his work in 1825,〔 though at the very same time his portraits were rejected by the London exhibitions. Probably sometime in 1827 Bowman went to Paris where he became acquainted with the Marquis de Lafayette, as it is said that he lived with Lafayette’s family for nine months.〔 It was during this time that he must have painted a portrait of Lafayette and his daughters later displayed in Charleston, South Carolina,〔''The City Gazette & Commercial Daily Advertiser'' February 25, 1830, vol. LIII, no. 47, 2.〕 and perhaps others of the Marquis. A friend and frequent guest of Lafayette’s was the American novelist James Fenimore Cooper. Bowman painted a portrait of Cooper which was also displayed in his studio in Charleston South Carolina where a visitor described it.〔"Portraits of Bowman and Rand," ''The Charleston Courier'' April 5, 1831, vol. xxix, no. 9568, 2.〕 Perhaps a year later Bowman went to Italy for additional study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. In 1828 he painted a three quarter length portrait of Bertel Thorvaldsen, the Danish sculptor, which Bowman considered his chef d’oeuvre. Having completed his study in Italy, Bowman returned to France late in 1828 before returning to the United States, possibly via New Orleans, where he intended to spend the winter painting portraits.〔"Mr. Bowman-The American Painter." ''Daily National Intelligencer'' (Washington, D.C.), November 26, 1828, issue 4938, col. B. InfoTrac Web Nineteenth Century Newspapers. (accessed April 22, 2009).〕 An article in the ''Toronto Patriot'' in 1834 suggests that he had been invited to paint King Louis Phillip of France but returned to America instead.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Bowman (painter)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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