Stella Bowen’s Aircrews
Esther Gwendolyn “Stella” Bowen is one of Australia’s most well-known Official War Artists.
Born in South Australia in 1893, as a young artist Bowen studied under renowned Australian artist Margaret Preston. After her mother died in 1914, Bowen left for England with a monthly allowance of £20 and a desire for artistic freedom. In London and later France, she became friends with a bohemian crowd, eventually entering a relationship with author Ford Madox Ford. In 1944 she was appointed an Official War Artist by the Memorial and commissioned to complete portraits of RAAF members.
Bowen’s Bomber Crew, which depicts members of No. 460 Squadron in front of their Avro Lancaster, was started before their last mission. Just one member of that crew, Pilot Officer Thomas Lynch, returned from that mission. Shot down near the Swiss border, Lynch spent months in German hospitals as a prisoner of war, and had to have a leg amputated. Mostly comprised of Australians No. 460 Squadron had official standing numbers of around 200, but suffered 1,018 combat deaths.
Stella Bowen, Bomber Crew, 1944, oil on canvas, ART26265
Bowen’s paintings of the crews of a Handley Page Halifax crew and a Short Sunderland are around the same size as Bomber Crew and contain similar subjects.
Bowen’s Halifax Crew, Driffield depicts the crew in the centre of the composition, but does not show their hands connected to their bodies. Instead their hands are depicted coming in from outside of the painting, performing their separate roles from within the aircraft. Above the crew is an eagle in flight: the symbol of the RAF and RAAF.
Stella Bowen, Halifax crew, Driffield (J Venning, C J Challis, J McCarthy, J Nicholas, G Robinson, J Good and H O Stenborg), 1945, oil on canvas, ART26268.
A Sunderland Crew Comes Ashore at Pembroke Dock depicts members of an aircrew from No. 461 Squadron. The three front crewmembers are RAF, with the remainder from the RAAF. In the background is their monstrous Short Sunderland aircraft at Pembroke Dock in Wales. No. 461 Squadron targeted German U-boats. By the end of the war, they had lost 20 aircraft and 86 squadron members, including 64 Australians.
Stella Bowen, A Sunderland Crew Comes Ashore at Pembroke Dock, 1945, oil on canvas, ART26275.
These works show the camaraderie and mateship of crews, and depict the close working relationships between members of the RAF and RAAF. These works are a legacy of the bonds shared among aircrews.