Margaretta Bowen

Margretta Bowen, best known as Gretta Bowen (1 January 1880 – 8 April 1981) was a self-taught Irish artist. She only started painting late in life, after her sons Arthur and George Campbell were already established as artists.

Early life Although born in Dublin to a railway worker Samuel Arthur Bowen, She was married to Matthew Campbell, a veteran of the Boer War. They had three boys Arthur, George and Stanley, who all went on to paint. After her husband died in 1925 she ran an laundrette and took in lodgers to make ends meet. She had a further solo exhibition at the Bell Gallery, Belfast in 1965 and participated in many group shows including but not limited to, the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, Oireachtas, the Royal Hibernian Academy The Arts Council for Northern Ireland used her Rustic Sports for a widely distributed poster print in 1974. In the following year her son George was commissioned to paint her portrait which was later displayed in the Arts Council's Women of Belfast exhibition.

Death and legacy Bowen died in Belfast on 8 April 1981. Her works can be found in many collections including those of the Ulster Museum, and the Department of Environment for Northern Ireland.