Leslie W. Bowman (born 1949) is an American painter and illustrator, known especially for her portraits.

Early life and education

A native of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Bowman was raised in Westport,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and studied illustration and photography at the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

, from which she graduated with a BFA in 1971. Early in the 1970s she moved to

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, where she continues to live and teach.

Career

In 1987 she illustrated ''The House in the Snow'' by M. J. Engh, which became her first work to be published; other books for which she provided illustrations include ''The Night the Bells Rang'' by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and ''Night of the Full Moon'' by

Gloria Whelan Gloria Whelan (born November 23, 1923) is an American poet, short story writer, and novelist known primarily for children's and young adult fiction. She won the annual National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2000 for the novel '' Hom ...

. Later in her career she turned to portraiture as her preferred medium. Bowman has most notably depicted six members of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

during her career, providing their official portraits in various roles for display in the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

. These include

Collin Peterson Collin Clark Peterson (born June 29, 1944) is an American accountant, politician, and lobbyist who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1991 to 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer– ...

, as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Agriculture The United States House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a Standing committees, standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction o ...

;

Dave Camp David Lee Camp (born July 9, 1953) is a former American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2015. Camp represented since 1993, and previously served one term representing . A member of the ...

, as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progr ...

;

Jim Oberstar James Louis Oberstar (September 10, 1934 – May 3, 2014) was an American politician and Congressman who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 2011. Hailing from Minnesota and a member of the state's local Minnes ...

, as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works ...

;

Sam Graves Samuel Bruce Graves Jr. (born November 7, 1963) is an American politician best known for serving in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives for , with him being the dean of Missouri's congressional districts, Mi ...

, as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Small Business The United States House Committee on Small Business is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It was established in 1941 as the House Select Committee on Small Business. History On December 4, 1941, the U. S. House o ...

;

Spencer Bachus Spencer Thomas Bachus III (born December 28, 1947) is an American politician. He is a former U.S. Representative for the state of Alabama, serving from 1993 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served as ranking member (2007–2011) an ...

, as chairman of the

United States House Committee on Financial Services The United States House Committee on Financial Services, also referred to as the House Banking Committee and previously known as the Committee on Banking and Currency, is the United States congressional committee, committee of the United States ...

; and

Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...

, as chairman of the

United States House Committee on the Budget The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process ...

. Other institutions which own examples of her work include the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

, for which she has painted Rosalie Wahl, and the

Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, Johns Hopkins is cons ...

; she has also depicted Minnesota Supreme Court justice

Russell A. Anderson Russell A. Anderson (May 28, 1942 – September 15, 2020) was an attorney-at-law, attorney who served as Chief Justice of Minnesota, Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. He served as an associate justice of the court from September 1, 199 ...

Works

Source:

Illustrator

* M.J. Engh, ''The House in the Snow, Orchard Books'' (New York, NY), 1987. * Elizabeth Borton de Treviño, ''El Güero: A True Adventure Story'', Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1989. *Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, ''The Canada Geese Quilt'', Cobblehill Books (New York, NY), 1989. * Marc Harshman, ''Snow Company'', Cobblehill Books (New York, NY), 1990. *Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, ''The Night the Bells Rang'', Cobblehill Books (New York, NY), 1991. *Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, ''The Fiddler of the Northern Lights'', Cobblehill Books (New York, NY), 1996. *Debra Page, ''Orcas around Me: My Alaskan Summer'', Albert Whitman (Morton Grove, IL), 1997. * Marc Harshman, ''When the End of Summer Is Near'', Cobblehill (New York, NY), 1999. * Marc Harshman, ''Snow Company'', Quarrier Press (Charleston, WV), 2002.

As Leslie Bowman

*Nancy Ruth Patterson, ''The Christmas Cup'', Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1989. *Marilyn Levinson, ''The Fourth-grade Four'', Holt (New York, NY), 1989. *Deborah Chandra, ''Balloons and Other Poems'', Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1990. *

, ''Hannah'', Knopf (New York, NY), 1991. *Dennis Haseley, ''Shadows'', Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1991. *

Gary Paulsen Gary James Paulsen (May 17, 1939 – October 13, 2021) was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction, best known for coming of age, coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote mor ...

, ''A Christmas Sonata'', Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1992. *Jeff Daniel Marion, ''Hello, Crow'', Orchard Books (New York, NY), 1992. *

, ''Night of the Full Moon'', Knopf (New York, NY), 1993. *

Dick King-Smith Ronald Gordon King-Smith OBE (27 March 1922 – 4 January 2011), known by his pen name Dick King-Smith, was an English writer of children's books. He is best known for '' The Sheep-Pig'' (1983), which was adapted as the movie '' Babe'' (1995) ...

, ''The Cuckoo Child'', Hyperion (New York, NY), 1993. *Deborah Chandra, ''Rich Lizard, and Other Poems'', Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 1993. *Alice Ross and Kent Ross, ''The Copper Lady'', Carolrhoda Books (Minneapolis, MN), 1997. *Jane Buchanan, ''The Berry-picking Man'', Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2003. *Kathleen McAlpin Blasi, ''A Name of Honor'', Mondo (New York, NY), 2006. *William Loizeaux, ''Wings'', Farrar, Straus & Giroux (New York, NY), 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Leslie W. 1949 births Living people American women children's book illustrators American children's book illustrators 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American women painters Artists from Westport, Connecticut Painters from New York City Painters from Connecticut Painters from Minnesota Rhode Island School of Design alumni