Lot 246: Sheila Catherine Bownas (British, 1925-2007) Ladies before a terrace cottage

Ladies before a terrace cottage
signed 'BOWNAS' (on stretcher),
oil on canvas,
76.5 x 51cm (30 1/8 x 20 1/16in).

Sheila Bownas was educated in Skipton, Yorkshire. She won a junior art scholarship to attend Skipton Art School from 1941 to 1946. She later gained a county art scholarship to attend the Slade School of Art in London until 1950.

She lived in London during the late 1950s and 1960s, and was commissioned to work on pictures for the National History Museum, mainly in the botanical section. She later returned to Yorkshire, and remained there until her death, aged 82. It was here, where she used her garage as a workshop and studio, that she began to build up her collection of portraits of local people as well as landscapes and still life.