Betty Bowen (born Betty Cornelius) (1918–1977), was an American journalist and art promoter. She was born in

Kent, Washington Kent is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue metropolitan area and had a population of 136,588 as of the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest municipality in greater Seattle and t ...

, and earned an English degree from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. She worked briefly as a reporter for ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'', and later as women's editor for the ''

Seattle Star ''The Seattle Star'' was a daily newspaper that ran from February 25, 1899, to August 13, 1947. It was owned by E. W. Scripps and in 1920 was transferred to Scripps McRae League of Newspapers (later Scripps-Canfield League), after a falling-ou ...

''. She was married to John Bowen, captain of an

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

ship that laid undersea cables.Mildred Andrews
Bowen, Betty (1918-1977)
HistoryLink, January 6, 1999. Accessed online 10 July 2008. Bowen played a role in founding the

Seattle Art Museum The Seattle Art Museum (commonly known as SAM) is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, United States. It operates three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum (SAAM) in Volunteer Park on Cap ...

(SAM) and many other important artistic institutions. Founding SAM Director Richard Fuller saw the potential in Bowen and promoted her to the first assistant director of the SAM. She is recognized for her successful attempts to make

Pike Place Market Pike Place Market is a public market in Seattle, Washington, United States. It opened on August 17, 1907, and is one of the oldest continuously operated public farmers' markets in the United States. Overlooking the Elliott Bay waterfront on Pu ...

a historic site, and her service on the board of the Friends of the Market. The Seattle Museum recognizes her service with an annual Betty Bowen Award, which recognizes formerly unknown artists from the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

and gives them an opportunity to win prizes up to $10,000. Seattle - Smith Cove from Betty Bowen Viewpoint

Bowen was an original member of the Seattle Arts Commission, a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Center, and helped to found the Allied Arts Historic Preservation Committee, of which she became chair after its founding. She died of a brain tumor in 1977 at the age of 58. She was declared a First Citizen of Seattle two days before her death. Seattle Art Museum gives an annual Betty Bowen Award in her honor. The small Marshall Park, about a block from where she lived, features the Betty Bowen Viewpoint with a view over Smith Cove,

Elliott Bay Elliott Bay is a part of the Central Basin region of Puget Sound. It is in the U.S. state of Washington, extending southeastward between West Point in the north and Alki Point in the south. Seattle was founded on this body of water in the 1850s an ...

and

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...

. There are several unsigned works cast in the concrete walkway by the viewpoint; contributing artists include

Morris Graves Morris Graves (August 28, 1910 – May 5, 2001) was an American painter. He was one of the earliest Modern artists from the Pacific Northwest to achieve national and international acclaim. His style, referred to by some reviewers as Mysticism, ...

Margaret Tomkins Margaret Tomkins (1916–2002) was an American Surrealism, Surrealist / Abstract expressionism, Abstract Expressionist painter. Though born, raised, and educated in Southern California, she spent most of her life in the Pacific Northwest, where s ...

Victor Steinbrueck Victor Eugene Steinbrueck (December 15, 1911 - February 14, 1985) was an American architect, best known for his efforts to preserve Seattle's Pioneer Square and Pike Place Market. He authored several books and was also a University of Washingto ...

Guy Anderson Guy Anderson (November 20, 1906 – April 30, 1998) was an American artist known primarily for his oil painting who lived most of his life in the Puget Sound region of the United States. His work is in the collections of numerous museums inc ...

Kenneth Callahan Kenneth Callahan (1905–1986) was an American painter and muralist who served as a catalyst for Northwest artists in the mid-20th century through his own painting, his work as assistant director and curator at the Seattle Art Museum, and his wr ...

and Charles Stokes.Marshall Park
Seattle Parks and Recreation, City of Seattle. Accessed online 2012-12-03.

Notes

References

* Mildred Andrews
Bowen, Betty (1918-1977)
HistoryLink, January 6, 1999.
Guide to the Betty Bowen Papers 1920-1977
University of Washington Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Betty Writers from Seattle Pike Place Market Journalists from Washington (state) 1918 births 1977 deaths People from Kent, Washington University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American philanthropists Deaths from brain cancer in the United States 20th-century American journalists