James Bowman (1793 – May 18, 1842) was an American itinerant artist and portrait painter. He was born in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Sometime between 1813 and 1815, James Bowman went to Chillicothe, Ohio, to learn to be a carpenter. There he met the itinerant painter Mr. J. T. Turner who taught him the rudiments of portrait painting (such as mixing paints). He gained considerable success when he started out professionally, painting in Pittsburgh and other communities in the early 1820s. He traveled to Philadelphia to learn from the masters there, but as a beginning artist could not make a living in that more cosmopolitan and competitive environment and became an itinerant portrait painter instead.
James Bowman was the earliest professional artist in Erie, Pennsylvania, painting there in 1817. According to Elizabeth Kelly, he painted portraits of the "early Erie aristocracy" and "… the fact that all of these prominent people had their portraits painted by Bowman indicates that they felt a real need to preserve their likenesses for posterity. The fact that Bowman spent such a brief time in Erie, however, indicates that during the early 1800s, Erie had not yet advanced to a point where it could support a full-time portrait painter." Bowman may also have visited Meadville,Pennsylvania seeking commissions near the same time. An article in the Crawford Weekly Messenger for Thursday July 15, 1830, indicates that the "now celebrated Bowman" painted portraits in Meadville in 1816. By 1822 Bowman was painting in the Washington, D.C., area. The biography reprinted from the Literary Cadet states how he hoped to become "patronized and protected by those guardians of the country—the members of congress… That year he exhibited a Portrait of a Gentleman at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and painted a portrait of Edward Stabler, a Quaker and apothecary in Alexandria, Virginia. Through a wealthy contact in Alexandria Bowman may have gained patronage with citizens of that town, including William Cranch, a judge and cousin of John Quincy Adams, whose portrait he painted.
European travel and study
Most of the outstanding portrait painters of this time were trained in Europe and Bowman felt if he was to have a career in art he needed access to additional training. An eloquent appeal for funds on Bowman’s behalf was made by "P.F." in an article in the Washington Gazette in March, 1822. Calling him an American genius and citing his humble upbringing, P.F. called upon the local citizens to support Bowman's desire to travel to Europe. Most probably, Bowman arrived in London penniless and with few acquaintances. However, at some point he rented a room from a widow named Mrs. Walter Channing Bridgen at 2 Cleveland Street, Buckingham, a place where several American artists including Charles Robert Leslie (1794-1859), Washington Allston (1779-1843), Thomas Sully (1783-1872), Samuel F. B. Morse (1791-1872),and Charles Bird King (1785-1862) had previously lived or dined. In addition Bowman was asked to paint "some of the most distinguished families in the kingdom, among which,were those of the Lord Chancellor, and of Gov. Clarkson of Woodbridge." Another source describes these gentlemen as patrons of Bowman.
Although several sources indicate that Bowman was a student of Sir Thomas Lawrence while in London, there is little evidence that Bowman did study with Lawrence except for Bowman's entry in Artists in Ohio 1787-1900 which states that he "… received, by his own account, some lessons from Sir Thomas Lawrence in London." According to Garlick, Sir Thomas Lawrence had paying pupils who received little training, but were allowed to make copies and ask for advice. It certainly appears Bowman met and became friends with several portrait and landscape artists working at the time in London. These included Charles Robert Leslie, Samuel F. B. Morse and Chester Harding (1792-1866).
It is through Chester Harding's diary kept during his first visit to England, selections of which were published in 1866 by his daughter, Margaret Eliot Harding White, that one learns some of the details of Bowman's life in England and of his first visit to Paris. By the winter of 1825 Bowman had moved to Birmingham when he stayed with the family of Mr. Van Wert, the brother-in-law of Washington Irving, and opened a gallery of paintings or studio there.