A colonial painter, Joseph Fowles was born in 1810 and arrived in Sydney in 1838. He initially worked as a farmer and became known as a painter of marine subjects and Sydney scenes in 1847 when his work was included in an exhibition by the Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts in Australia. Joseph Fowles is best known for his publication Sydney in 1848 which was issued in twenty parts between 1848 and 1850, and consisting of eighty copperplate engravings. In the 1850s he turned his hand to painting racehorses. He taught at the Sydney Mechanics School of Art and at several Sydney private schools and was an examiner for the National Board of Education.
The earliest auction listing we have for Joseph Fowles is in 1972 and in total 53 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 28 (53%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $34,560 for A Three-Masted Barque in a Storm sold by Christies in June 1986. No works have been offered for sale this year, and the last sale we have recorded for the artist was in 2022. Works by Joseph Fowles are held by the Art Gallery of NSW.
Joseph Fowles is listed in the following standard biographical references:
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
No, ineligible. The artist has been deceased for more than 70 years.
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