Frank Bowling facts for kids

Sir Frank Bowling (born Richard Sheridan Franklin Bowling on 26 February 1934) is a famous British artist. He was born in British Guiana, which is now Guyana in South America. He is well-known for his very large, abstract paintings, especially his "Map" paintings. These artworks connect to art styles like abstract expressionism (where artists show feelings through abstract forms), colour field painting (using large areas of flat color), and lyrical abstraction (a more emotional and spontaneous abstract style).

Many people call Frank Bowling "one of Britain’s greatest living abstract painters." He is also seen as one of the most important Black artists to come from British art schools after World War II. In 2019, a big exhibition of his work was held at Tate Britain in London. He was also the first Black artist to be chosen as a member of the Royal Academy of Arts. His art is displayed in over fifty collections around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Tate Britain.

Early Life and Education

Frank Bowling was born on 26 February 1934 in Bartica, British Guiana. His parents were Richard and Agatha Bowling.

In 1940, his family moved to New Amsterdam. His father worked as an accountant for the local police. His mother was a very talented seamstress and dressmaker. She started a successful business called "Bowling's Variety Store."

When he was 19, in May 1953, Bowling moved to Britain. He lived with his uncle in London and studied English at Westminster College of Commerce.

After serving in the Royal Air Force, Bowling met another artist named Keith Critchlow. Keith inspired him to study art, even though Frank had first wanted to be a poet and writer. He went on to study at the Chelsea School of Art.

In 1959, Bowling won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London. There, he studied alongside other famous artists like David Hockney and R. B. Kitaj. At first, he painted still-life pictures of bottles, animals, and meat. He also made a series of paintings called "Sheep’s Head" in 1960, which used muted, earthy colors. Another series from 1960, called "The Athletes," featured bright colors and energetic designs.

Frank Bowling finished his studies at the Royal College of Art in 1962.

Artistic Career

Early Figurative and Pop Art (1950s–1960s)

Frank Bowling, Cover Girl, 1966

Frank Bowling's art career began with his first public show, Image in Revolt, in London in October 1962.

In 1963, he started teaching painting at Camberwell School of Art. There, he began using screen-printed images of his mother's store in his paintings. One of the first paintings to use this image was Cover Girl (1966). The title refers to a young woman from a magazine cover.

A very important painting from this early period is Mirror (1964–66). In this artwork, Bowling shows himself twice on a spiral staircase. This painting represents a time of change and new beginnings for him.

"Map Paintings" (1967–1971)

Frank Bowling, Polish Rebecca, 1971

From about 1967 to 1971, after moving to New York, Bowling created a group of artworks known as the "map paintings." He used map shapes and outlines in these paintings. The maps helped him organize the flat surface of his canvases. These large paintings were shown in his first solo museum exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1971. Some famous examples include Marcia H Travels (1970) and Australia to Africa (1971).

"Poured Paintings" (1974–1978)

Frank Bowling, Grating Rhymes, 1978

In 1974, Bowling started a new way of painting. He built a special platform that could tilt like a seesaw. He would pour paint onto canvases that were attached to this tilted surface. These are called "poured paintings." They often have a tall, rectangular shape with lines of paint flowing down. This method combined chance with careful technique. An exhibition of these paintings was held at Tate Britain in 2012.

Art in the 1980s

Frank Bowling, Philoctetes' Bow, 1987

By the early 1980s, Bowling's paintings became very thick and textured, often using a lot of gel. In 1984, he started adding different objects to his paintings, like newspaper, plastic, and foam.

In 1986, he showed many new paintings at the Serpentine Gallery in London. One of these was Wintergreens (1986). Another important work from this time, Spreadout Ron Kitaj (1986), was bought by Tate. In 1987, he created Philoctete’s Bow, which has complex, textured surfaces made by stitching, patching, and gluing pieces onto the canvas.

Towards the end of the 1980s, Bowling made his "Great Thames" series (1989). These paintings honored famous English landscape painters like J. M. W. Turner. During this period, Bowling also began making sculptures, often using galvanised steel.

From 2000 to Today

Frank Bowling, Epps, 2009

In 2009, Bowling created a series of "zipper" paintings, like Epps (2009). These paintings feature vertical and horizontal lines that suggest tall skies or wide horizons. In 2011, he showed new works called "Crossings," where thick bands of color are layered in the center of the canvas.

His work has been shown in many major exhibitions. In 2017, there was a large show at Haus der Kunst in Munich. A very important exhibition was held at Tate Britain in 2019. In 2021, the Arnolfini in Bristol showed his unseen works in an exhibition called Land of Many Waters. In 2022, the Stephen Lawrence Gallery focused on his sculptures.

His exhibition Frank Bowling's Americas was shown at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2022–2023. His paintings are in major art collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In 2024, the Tate Library in Brixton hosted an exhibition of his work as part of Black History Month.

His Place in British Art History

Since the late 1960s, Bowling's art has been part of many important exhibitions that focused on the work of Black-British and Afro-Caribbean artists. He was part of the 1978 London exhibition Afro-Caribbean Art.

Bowling was also featured in the very important 1989 exhibition The Other Story. This show aimed to explore the history of Black-British art after World War II. It was one of the first shows to truly look at this topic. The exhibition wanted to show how non-Western art histories are important on their own and also part of the bigger story of global art.

Family Life

Frank Bowling married textile artist Rachel Scott in 2013.

He was first married to novelist and art critic Paddy Kitchen from 1960 to 1966. They had one son, Richard Sheridan Bowling (1962–2001), also known as Dan Bowling, who is now deceased.

Frank Bowling has two other sons: Ben Bowling (born 1962), who is a professor, and Sacha Bowling (born 1964), who is a filmmaker and photographer.

Art Style and Influences

For over sixty years, Bowling has explored new ways to use paint. His large and powerful paintings show his deep connection to the materials he uses and how art has changed over time.

In his earliest works, Bowling was inspired by artists like Rembrandt, Goya, Van Gogh, and Francis Bacon. From 1962, he became very interested in using geometry (shapes and lines) in his paintings. His paintings Big Bird (1964) and Mirror (1964–66) show how important geometry was to him.

A big change in Bowling’s style happened in 1966 when he moved to New York. At first, his art was influenced by pop art (art that uses images from popular culture). But around 1969, he started using personal photos, letters, and cut-out stencils of continents in his art. He would stain and splatter his canvases with liquid paint, mixing ideas of geography, memory, and history. He also became friends with pop artists Larry Rivers and Jasper Johns, who helped him grow as a painter.

In 1984, Bowling spent time as an artist-in-residence in rural Maine, United States. He was inspired by the green landscapes there. His paintings from the mid-1980s combined his memories of English landscape painting with this new inspiration. This is when he started adding objects into his paintings, influenced by painter Larry Poons.

The sculptures Bowling made in 1988 were similar to the work of other modern sculptors like David Evison and William Turnbull.

The art Bowling has made since 2010 brings together many of his earlier ideas. A special part of his recent paintings is the use of found objects. He includes things like letters, old banknotes, plastic animals, shirt collars, and even medical equipment. These objects often hint at his family, his travels, and different stories.

Art experts see Bowling as a "modernist" artist. This means he believes that painting is a deep, thoughtful act. He constantly thinks about the ideas, sources, and materials in his work. Many Black and Afro-Caribbean artists of his time used abstract art, which was a European style, to express their own ideas and challenge old ways of thinking.

Awards and Recognition

Frank Bowling has received many awards throughout his career. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1962 with a silver medal for painting. After graduating, he received a scholarship that allowed him to travel to Barbados, Trinidad, and British Guiana.

In 1967, he was given a Guggenheim Fellowship, which is a special award for artists. He also won a painting prize for his work My Guyana, 1966-67. He received a second Guggenheim Fellowship in 1973 and an Arts Council of Great Britain Award in 1977.

In 2005, Bowling was chosen as a member of the Royal Academy of Arts. He was the first Black artist to become a Royal Academician in the history of the institution. He became a Senior Royal Academician in 2011.

Bowling was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2008. He was also knighted in 2020 for his contributions to art, which means he can now be called "Sir." In 2022, he received the Wolfgang Hahn Prize.

Selected Exhibitions

• Frank Bowling’s Americas, New York, 1966–75. Museum of Fine Arts Boston and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2022–23.
• Frank Bowling: Penumbral Light. Hauser & Wirth, Zurich, 2022.
• Frank Bowling: Sculpture. Stephen Lawrence Gallery, University of Greenwich Galleries, London, 2022.
• Frank Bowling: Wolfgang Hahn Prize. Museum Ludwig, Cologne, Germany, 2022.
• Slip Zone: A New Look at Postwar Abstraction in the Americas and East Asia, Dallas Museum of Art, 2021–22.
• Frank Bowling: Land of Many Waters. Arnolfini Gallery, Bristol, 2021.
• Frank Bowling. Tate Britain. London, 2019.
• Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power. Tate Modern, London, 2018.
• Frank Bowling: Mappa Mundi. Haus der Kunst, Munich, 2017–18.
• Journeyings: Recent Works on Paper by Frank Bowling RA. Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2011.
• Frank Bowling RA: Crossings. Rollo Contemporary Art, London, 2011.
• Frank Bowling: Full of Light – A Survey Exhibition Featuring Paintings from 1978 to 2004. G.R. N’Namdi Gallery, Detroit, Michigan, United States, 2005.
• Bending the Grid: Black Identity and Resistance in the Art of Frank Bowling. Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, New Jersey, United States, 2003.
• Fault Lines: Contemporary African Art and Shifting Landscapes. Venice Biennale, 2003.
• Frank Bowling: Bowling on Through the Century. Multiple venues, 1996–67.
• Frank Bowling: Painting. Serpentine Gallery, London, 1986.
• Frank Bowling. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 1971.