Jean Mildred Hunter Cowan née Hore, (1882–1967) was a Scottish artist who painted in oils and watercolours and was a portrait sculptor. She was also a keen sportswomen, a gifted amateur violinist and an early aviator.

Biography

Cowan was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and educated at

St Leonards School St Leonards School is a co-educational private boarding and day school for pupils aged 4–19 in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. Founded in 1877 as St Andrews School for Girls Company, it adopted the St Leonards name upon moving to its current pre ...

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

and at the

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Conservatorium in Germany. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

she served with an ambulance organisation in France, during which time she completed numerous sketches of the unit's work and of her co-workers. Returning to Edinburgh she exhibited regularly with the

Scottish Society of Women Artists Visual Arts Scotland (VAS) is an exhibiting art organisation based in Edinburgh, Scotland representing fine and applied visual artists throughout the country. The society was founded in 1924 as the Scottish Society of Women Artists. Visual Arts ...

and, later in life, served as the Society's president throughout the 1950s. Cowan became a member of the

Society of Scottish Artists The Society of Scottish Artists is a Scottish artist-run organisation which seeks to ''promote and encourage experimentation and the "adventurous spirit" in Scottish art.'' It was founded in 1891 by Patrick Geddes, William Gordon Burn Murdoch and ...

in 1945 and also exhibited with the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

and the

Royal Scottish Watercolour Society The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) is a Scottish art society established in 1878. The current patron is Charles III. It is a registered charity based in Glasgow and holds an annual exhibition. The first preliminary meeting ...

. She exhibited both bronze sculptures and watercolour paintings with the

Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (RGI) is an independent organisation in Glasgow, founded in 1861, which promotes contemporary art and artists in Scotland. The institute organizes the largest and most prestigious annual art exhibiti ...

. Cowan travelled extensively throughout her life, especially in Africa and south-east Asia, and pursued several interests other than her art. In 1924 she won both the ladies golf championship of India and the ladies tennis doubles championship of Malaysia. She was a talented amateur violinist and in 1927 was the founding president of the Women's Section of the Edinburgh Society of Musicians. In 1911 Cowan learned to fly and at various times was claimed as either the first British, or the first Scottish, female solo pilot, with both these claims being strongly disputed by the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Hunter Cowan 1882 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Scottish painters 20th-century Scottish women painters Artists from Edinburgh British women aviators People educated at St Leonards School Scottish aviators