Theodora Esther Cowan (Theo) (1868–1949) was an Australian artist, regarded as the first Australian-born woman sculptor. She was one of a number of women sculptors who were working at the end of the 19th century. Apart from being the first to be born in Australia, Cowan (along with Margaret Baskerville) was among the first to achieve success, especially for her portrait work.

Biography

Cowan was born at Richmond Villa in

The Domain, Sydney The Domain is a heritage-listed area of open space located on the eastern fringe of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Separating the central business district from ...

and began her training in Sydney at the Sydney Technical College with Lucien Henry before moving to Italy in 1889 with her parents, where she stayed for six years. She studied in Florence at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

under Longworth Powers and

Augusto Rivalta Augusto Rivalta (1835 or 1838 – April 14, 1925) was an Italian sculptor. Biography Rivalta was born in Alessandria, Italy, to Genoese parents. In 1859, he moved to Florence, but soon swept up in the patriotic events, he volunteered for the ...

, where she "acquired the technique of her art". Cowan was one of a number of young Australian sculptors, including

Bertram Mackennal Sir Edgar Bertram Mackennal (12 June 186310 October 1931), usually known as Bertram Mackennal, was an Australian sculptor and medallist, most famous for designing the coinage and stamps bearing the likeness of George V. He signed his work "BM". ...

, who had gone to Europe to study in the early years of the 20th century. In Italy Cowan met prominent people such as

Pietro Mascagni Pietro Mascagni (7 December 1863 – 2 August 1945) was an Italian composer primarily known for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece '' Cavalleria rusticana'' caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the ...

Ouida Ouida (; 1 January 1839 – 25 January 1908) was the pseudonym of the English novelist Maria Louise Ramé (although she preferred to be known as Marie Louise de la Ramée). During her career, Ouida wrote more than 40 novels, as well as s ...

and the American sculptor

Harriet Hosmer Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (October 9, 1830 – February 21, 1908) was a neoclassical sculptor, considered the most distinguished female sculptor in America during the 19th century. She is known as the first female professional sculptor. Among other ...

. In 1895, Cowan returned to Sydney and established a studio in the Strand Arcade. She found there was some prejudice against women sculptors and explained that she was "in the position of a pioneer". Cowan travelled to London in 1901, set up a studio in Grosvenor Street, and met important artists such as Holman Hunt, who visited her. She again returned to Sydney in 1913 and worked from

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. ...

. In Australia, two of her "best friends" were Lord Hampden, the Governor, and

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales fr ...

, the Prime Minister, who Cowan described as "not imbued with this local distrust in women's work". In 1902, Cowan's name appeared in a list that included

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th centur ...

Ada Crossley Ada Jemima Crossley (3 March 1871 – 17 October 1929) was an Australian contralto notable as the first Red Seal recording artist engaged in the US by the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1903. Born at Tarraville, Gippsland, Victoria, she was ...

Rosa Campbell Praed Rosa Campbell Praed (; 26 March 1851 – 10 April 1935), often credited as Mrs. Campbell Praed (and also known as ''Rosa Caroline Praed''), was an Australian novelist in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Her large bibliography covered multiple ...

, Kathleen Mannington Caffyn, Louise Mack,

Mary Gaunt Mary Eliza Bakewell Gaunt (20 February 1861 – 19 January 1942) was an Australian novelist, born in Chiltern, Victoria. She also wrote collections of short stories, novellas, autobiographies, and non-fiction. She published her first novel ...

and

Ellis Rowan Marian Ellis Rowan (30 July 18484 October 1922), known as Ellis Rowan, was a well-known Australian artist and botanical illustrator. She also did a series of illustrations on birds, butterflies and insects. Life Marian, the daughter of Maria ...

in an illustrated article entitled "Notable Australian Women". When Cowan died in a private hospital in

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.North Sydney. The probate value on her estate was £5047.

Career

Cowan's first commission was completed in Italy. It was "a monument to Miss Pearson, the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

nurse who founded the first private hospital in London" and was erected in the cemetery of

San Miniato al Monte San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic ...

. She was invited to submit a

maquette A ''maquette'' (French word for scale model, sometimes referred to by the Italian names ''plastico'' or ''modello'') is a scale model or rough draft of an unfinished sculpture. An equivalent term is ''bozzetto'', from the Italian word for "sketc ...

for the proposed sculptural groups to be erected on the

Queen Victoria Building The Queen Victoria Building (abbreviated as the QVB) is a heritage-listed late-nineteenth-century building designed by the architect George McRae located at 429–481 George Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian st ...

but her design of "three draped female figures with coat of arms", a work described as "competent if conventional" was not successful, and the commission was given to

William Priestly MacIntosh William Priestly MacIntosh (1857 – 9 January 1930) was a sculptor in Sydney, Australia. His works often decorated significant public buildings in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and major provincial centres. Many of them are now heritage-listed. Ea ...

. In 1897 Cowan was a finalist in the inaugural year of the

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

and again in 1925. After her return to Sydney in 1913, Cowan worked on commissions for various organisations such as the Government of New South Wales, the Chamber of Manufacturers and a small bust of Dr. Hinder (father of Frank Hinder) for the Western Suburbs Hospital. In Sydney, she was a regular exhibitor at the Society of Artists for which organisation she was a Council member from 1897–98, and an active member of the Society of Women Painters. She became interested in

watercolour painting Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

and in later life "turned increasingly towards painting and away from sculpture".

Works

Cowan completed a number of portrait busts of notable people, including the one which took pride of place in her one-woman exhibition at London's Grafton Galleries, that of the

Bishop of London A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, Arthur Winnington-Ingram. The Bishop reportedly sat for it at

Fulham Palace Fulham Palace, in Fulham, London, previously in the former English county of Middlesex, is a Grade I listed building with medieval origins and was formerly the principal residence of the Bishop of London. The site was the country home of the ...

. Other well-known, notable subjects included

Sir Gilbert Parker Sir Horatio Gilbert George Parker, 1st Baronet (23 November 1862 – 6 September 1932), known as Gilbert Parker, Canadian novelist and British politician, was born at Camden East, Addington, Ontario, the son of Captain Joseph Parker, R.A. Edu ...

, Sir Edmund Barton (first Prime Minister of Australia), Sir

Henry Parkes Sir Henry Parkes, (27 May 1815 – 27 April 1896) was a colonial Australian politician and longest non-consecutive Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, the present-day state of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia. He has ...

, and a full length statuette of Mrs. Brown-Potter. Her work is represented in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the

Parliament House, Canberra Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, and the seat of the legislative branch of the Australian Government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is ...

. The bust of Eccleston du Faur (third President of the Board of trustees of the Art Gallery) was the Gallery's first commission to a Sydney artist. "After the completion of the Eccleston du Faur marble bust, there were questions in Parliament as to why the bust had been commissioned and why the commission had been given to a woman." Her portrait bust of Eliezer Levi Montefiore (President of the Art Gallery Trustees from 1889 to 1892) has been assessed as clearly showing her "skill as a portraitist". It was sculpted in 1898. In 1902 in London she was given a commission for a bust in marble of

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religiou ...

Flinders Petrie Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie ( – ), commonly known as simply Flinders Petrie, was a British Egyptologist and a pioneer of systematic methodology in archaeology and the preservation of artefacts. He held the first chair of Egyp ...

, who was the grandson of explorer Matthew Flinders. This newspaper article refers to Flinders Petrie as "the nephew" of Matthew Flinders. However, Petrie was the son of Anne (née Flinders), daughter of Matthew, which makes him Matthew's grandson.

Awards

* 1899 – Society of Artists' Spring Exhibition (showing her bust of Sir Edmund Barton) * In 1900, she was in London where she held a successful solo exhibition at the Grafton Gallery * 1907 – London Exhibition of Work by Women Artists (First Prize) * 1908 – Franco-British Exhibition (gold medal for ''Will-o-the-Wisp'' – the best piece of child portraiture)

References

External links