Rachel Mary Owen (30 November 1968 – 18 December 2016) was a Welsh photographer, printmaker and lecturer on medieval Italian literature. She was married to
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
singer
Thom Yorke
Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...
.
Life and career
Owen was born in
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, Wales. She received a B.A. (Hons) in Italian and Fine Art (Painting), specialising in Printmaking, from the
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
. In the 1990s, she lived in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
with two students and studied painting at the
Accademia di Belle Arti of Florence, where she fell in love with Dante's work.
In 2001, Owen received a PhD from the
University of London
The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...
, where her research was on the illustrations in manuscripts of
Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...
's ''
Divine Comedy
The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...
''.
Owen was a lecturer in Italian with a focus on medieval Italian literature, where she examined illustration and its reception in Dante's ''Divine Comedy.''
She taught art history and Dante studies for visiting students at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
She was also a fine-art printmaker,
and a member of the
Oxford Printmakers Co-operative.
She mixed photography with printmaking
and her work explored ideas of transformation using photographic screenprints.
Her artwork was used on the cover of the 1993
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
single "
Pop Is Dead
"Pop Is Dead" is a song by the British alternative rock band Radiohead. It was released as a non-album single on 10 May 1993, several months after their debut album ''Pablo Honey''. It reached number 42 on the UK Singles Chart. It was included in ...
"''.''
Personal life
For 23 years, Owen was in a relationship with
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
singer
Thom Yorke
Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...
, whom she met while they were students at the
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university , public research university in Exeter, Devon, England, United Kingdom. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of Min ...
.
She and Yorke had a son born in 2001, named Noah, and a daughter born in 2004, named Agnes.
Owen influenced the lyrics of Radiohead songs such as "I Might Be Wrong"
and "Optimistic".
In 2012, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' reported that Owen and Yorke were not married.
However, ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' later found that they had married in a secret ceremony in Oxfordshire in May 2003. In August 2015, the couple announced they had separated amicably "after 23 highly creative and happy years".
Several critics believed the separation influenced the lyrics of Radiohead's 2016 album ''
A Moon Shaped Pool
''A Moon Shaped Pool'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead. It was released digitally on 8 May 2016, and physically on 17 June 2016 through XL Recordings. It was produced by Radiohead's longtime producer Nigel Godrich.
...
''.
Death
Owen died of cancer on 18 December 2016 at the age of 48.
She continued to teach Italian into her final months. Radiohead dedicated the 2017 ''
OKNOTOK'' reissue of their 1997 album ''
OK Computer
''OK Computer'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in Japan on 21 May 1997 and in the UK on 16 June 1997. Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich, an arrangement they have used for their subsequ ...
'' to her memory.
Works
Books
*''Rachel Owen: Illustrations for Dante's 'Inferno
'''. Oxford:
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
, 2021. Edited by David Bowe. .
Exhibitions
* 2015: Ballon Rouge Art,
Thame
Thame is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the county border wi ...
, Oxfordshire, England, 7–15 November 2015
Papers
*
*
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owen, Rachel
1968 births
2016 deaths
20th-century Welsh women artists
21st-century Welsh women artists
Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London
Alumni of the University of Exeter
Artists from Cardiff
British printmakers
Deaths from cancer in England
Welsh women photographers
Women printmakers