Frank Bowling, the 92-year-old artist born in British Guiana, now Guyana, has opened up about his life, fears, and artistic ambitions in a candid interview. Bowling, who moved to the UK at 19 and served in the RAF, graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1962 with a silver medal for painting. He later moved to New York, received a Guggenheim fellowship, and exhibited his 'map paintings' at the Whitney Museum in 1971. In 2005, he became the first black artist elected a Royal Academician, and Tate Britain staged a retrospective in 2019. His current exhibition, Seeking the Sublime, is at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, until January 2027. He lives in London with his wife.
Happiness and Fears
When asked when he was happiest, Bowling replied, 'Recently, as people began to understand what I am trying to do in my painting.' His greatest fear, he said, is 'being poor.' He also deplores the trait of 'trying to exercise authority over one' in others.
Embarrassment and Guilty Pleasures
Bowling recalled an embarrassing moment from the 1950s when he attended the Chelsea Arts Club's New Year's Eve ball at the Royal Albert Hall dressed as a Christmas pudding, with swimming trunks under his costume and holly in his hair. His guiltiest pleasure, he admitted, is 'Lagavulin 16-year-old whisky. My doctor says I shouldn't.'
Artistic Process and Legacy
Describing himself in three words, Bowling said, 'Needing order always.' He said he most overuses the phrase 'the edge,' explaining, 'I'm very concerned about the edges of my work and sometimes I can't get my assistants to understand.' When asked how he would like to be remembered, he replied, 'As a nice old man.'
Family and Influences
Bowling said he owes his mother for paying his first term's fees at art school and that he inherited her ambition. He hopes that when he dies, he will find his mother and father in heaven, though he joked, 'Only my father would probably say, “You can’t come and live here, boy!”' His greatest achievement, he believes, is 'being able to paint the way I do.'
