Frank Bowling (b. 1934, British Guiana) moved to London in 1953, where exposure to painting led him to study at the Royal College of Art. After early success in Britain, he relocated to New York in 1966, embracing abstraction and exploring colour and the materiality of paint. Returning to London in the 1970s while maintaining transatlantic ties, he developed a distinctive hybrid style. Bowling was elected the Royal Academy’s first Black member in 2005 and knighted in 2020.

Above: Frank Bowling
Beggar no.5, 1962–63
A ragged figure stands before Bowling’s Variety Store, his childhood home in Guyana run by his mother, Chrissie. Known for taking in beggars, she required Bowling to wash their feet before meals—an experience he later described as traumatic. This memory recurs in his early work. Here, the figure contrasts with geometric forms, reflecting his emerging dialogue between representation and abstraction.
Oil on linen

Frank Bowling can be seen at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge