Joséphine Bowes, also known as, Joséphine Benoîte Coffin-Chevallier, Countess of Montalbo (1825 – 1874)
Joséphine Bowes was a French artist, actress and art collector. Joséphine and her husband John Bowes, were the founders of the Bowes Museum which opened in Teesdale, County Durham in England in 1892, sadly, after both of their deaths.
Part of the Bowes Museum collection includes, “The Silver Swan Automaton”, which was made in 1772. It took silver smiths and watchmakers just over a year to build and is an exact copy of a female mute swan. When in operation, the life-like swan preens itself and then proceeds to catch a fish, which it appears to eat (swans are vegetarians).
Aside from Joséphine and John being keen collectors, Joséphine herself, painted, and the Bowes Museum houses around 60 of her artworks. She was influenced by the French artist, Courbet in the way that she used subject matter, colour and texture. She painted landscapes and still-lifes and had a keen interest in modern art.
Displaying 14 Artworks
