Bowes Museum to Host Exhibition Marking Founder’s 200th Birthday

A County Durham Museum is set to host an exhibition marking the bicentennial of a woman described as “visionary.” Josephine Bowes, who was the daughter of a modest clockmaker, challenged societal expectations to establish herself as a groundbreaking artist, collector, and arts patron. She co-founded the Bowes Museum, located close to Barnard Castle, with her husband; the museum is now renowned for its extensive collection of art and furniture. The exhibition, titled “Trailblazers and Trendsetters,” is scheduled to open in February and will showcase artworks covering a 300-year period that have influenced Western cultural trends to the present day. Born in 1825, Josephine Benoite Coffin-Chevalie began her career as a Parisian actress and dancer. She later became the mistress, and subsequently, the wife of John Bowes, the illegitimate son of the 10th Earl of Strathmore, a marital status considered uncommon for that era. While their primary residence was in France, they frequently traveled to his family’s estates in County Durham. It was there that the couple chose to establish their lasting legacy, the Bowes Museum. John Bowes supplied the financial resources, while Josephine, herself a dedicated artist, contributed the artistic expertise and network necessary to assemble the collection. Vicky Sturrs, who serves as the director of programmes and collections at the Bowes Museum, stated: “She was an innovator and tastemaker, a collector of young and emerging talent, who amassed a founding collection of 15,000 objects encompassing fine art to ceramics, glassware to textiles, furniture to mechanical objects. “At the time, more early Impressionist works were purchased by The Bowes Museum than by the National Gallery in London.” The exhibition delves into the “contemporary continuation of Joséphine’s collection and imagines where its female founder’s knowledge of artistic trends might take [it] next.” It will feature prominent pieces from the museum’s current holdings alongside borrowed items from other institutions and new creations by notable artists from the North of England. Ms Sturrs indicated that the exhibition’s objective is to “reflect on its founders’ vision … and what it means to be a collecting institution at the forefront of artistic trends for the North of England and beyond.” The “Trailblazers and Trendsetters” exhibition is scheduled to commence in February. For further updates, BBC North East can be followed on X, Facebook, Nextdoor, and Instagram. Story submissions can be sent to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk. This content is copyrighted by BBC 2024. All rights are reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites and provides information regarding its policy on external linking.