Notes

Oil paintings by Thomas William Bowler are exceedingly rare with only twelve examples recorded by his biographer, Frank Bradlow known to be in existence.¹ Working primarily in watercolour, as was the favoured style of English landscape painters of the time, the present two lots show a seldom seen part of what constitutes the height of Bowler’s painterly oeuvre. Listed in Bradlow’s catalogue raisonné are two studies that document this artistic process: a watercolour and lithographic reproduction. These studies provides a unique historical perspective that allows us to view and understand these two works in oil. 

The first watercolour sketch depicts the arrival of the East Indiaman, the St Lawrence, in Table Bay on 17 September, 1861.² A ‘Blackwell frigate’ typical of mid-19th century sailing vessels constructed for the Indian trade routes, she was built by T. & W. Smith in the shipyards of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and “was considered the finest and latest thing in wooden passenger construction”.³ As Bradlow suggests, Bowler’s “seascapes had more sincerity and strength of purpose” than his inland scenes, further adding that “he had made a study of the sea and sky in all weathers; he knew how to ‘people’ these elements with vessels, objects and birds; he understood the freshness of light and the beauty of water” which allowed him to express “the drama of the sea in all its varieties of action”.⁴

The second is an engraving of lot 560 depicting Port Elizabeth in 1862, reproduced by the lithographic printer T. Picken.⁵ Whilst the painting only came to public attention in 1986 when it was exhibited as part of the holdings of Metropolitan Life at the King George VI Art Gallery, Bradlow’s accompanying note reveals some artistic licence on the part of Bowler.⁶ Described as a view of Port Elizabeth “taken from the cemetery, near the Harbour Board works and embracing the town, bay shipping and break water”, the painting includes the Town Hall, which was not finished at the time of execution.⁷ As Bradlow speculates, Bowler must have had a preview of the architectural drafts in order to realise his panorama, whose eventual construction was only completed in the early 1880s, after his death.

1.  Frank Bradlow (1975) Thomas Bowler – His Life and Work in The Art of Thomas Bowler at the Cape, Cape Town Festival Season 75, Homes Trust Life, page 2.

2.  Frank Bradlow (1967) Thomas Bowler: His Life and Work, Cape Town: A A Balkema on page 120, catalogue number 116, illustrated in colour as a full size reproduction inserted inside the back cover. 

3.  Basil Lubbock (1922) The Blackwall Frigates, Glasgow: James Brown & Sons, page 275.

4.  Frank Bradlow (1975) Thomas Bowler – His Life and Work in The Art of Thomas Bowler at the Cape, Cape Town Festival Season 75, Homes Trust Life, page 2.

5.  Frank Bradlow (1967) Thomas Bowler: His Life and Work, Cape Town: A A Balkema, illustrated in black and white on page 277, catalogue number LP31.

6.  Frank Bradlow (1975) Thomas Bowler – His Life and Work in The Art of Thomas Bowler 1812 – 1869, Metropolitan Homes Trust Life, page 5. 

7.  Frank Bradlow (1967) Thomas Bowler: His Life and Work, Cape Town: A A Balkema, page 54.

Provenance

Metropolitan Life.

Exhibited

Cape Town Festival Season 75, Homes Trust Life Gallery, 33 Church Street, Cape Town, The Art of Thomas Bowler at the Cape, March 17 to April 5, 1975, catalogue number 46, wth the title Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope.

Lorimer Hall, King George VI Art Gallery, Port Elizabeth, The Art of Thomas Bowler 1812-1869, 1 December 1986 to 11 January 1987, catalogue number 17, with the title Table Bay.

Literature

Table Bay, Cape of Good Hope in Frank Bradlow (1967) Thomas Bowler: His Life and Work, Cape Town: A A Balkema on page 120, catalogue number 116, the watercolour sketch of this composition illustrated in colour as a full size reproduction inserted inside the back cover.