Jane Maria Bowkett

Jane Maria Bowkett (1837–1891) was a British traditional Victorian genre painter who worked primarily in oils.

The family, however, subsequently prospered, and in the mid-1880s Bowkett and her husband finally purchased an impressive newly built property in Hampstead with a huge galleried studio connected to the spacious house by a barrel-vaulted conservatory.

[10][11][12][13] High prices could be achieved for her work; for instance, at the RBA in 1875 On the Sands at Shanklin, Isle of Wight sold for £157.10s.

[16][17][18] It has been suggested that Bowkett leaves some ambiguity in the facial expression of the mother as she sees her husband's train approaching in the distance.

This interpretation is suggested to be demonstrated in some of her other works where Bowkett depicts women bothering themselves with their home duties and not fulfilling expectations that were set for them.

The critic concludes that by disrupting the interaction between form and content, Bowkett is able to leave moral ambiguity in her work.

[3] Comparing Bowkett's ‘Preparing Tea’ with her similar painting ‘Looking out for Papa’ tends to argue against a consistent ambiguity in her work suggested by the critic.