War Artist
The Second World War brought a new chapter in Stella's career. In 1944, she was appointed an official war artist by the Australian War Memorial. Theaden Brocklebank, a producer with the Pacific service of the BBC and wife of William Keith Hancock, had arranged for Stella Bowen to record regular talks for Australian audiences about her wartime experiences. These talks provided Bowen with additional income during a difficult time and they resulted in the offer of the position of war artist.
Bowen's brief as a war artist was to depict the activities of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) stationed in England. She also painted portraits of military commanders and Australian prisoners of war who had recently been repatriated from Europe. One of the first women artists to be appointed, Stella completed her last painting in 1947. She died later that year of colon cancer, having never returned to Australia.
Two portraits by Bowen are in the National Portrait Gallery collection, George Douglas Howard Cole and Dame Margaret Isabel Cole.
A painting of Admiral Sir Ragnar Colvin painted in 1944 is held by the Australian War Memorial
Read more about this topic: Stella Bowen, World War Two
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