Roy Cowan's wife Juliet Peter was a New Zealand potter, printmaker, and sculptor.
13 Facts About Roy Cowan
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Roy Cowan, the son of New Zealand writer James Cowan, was born in Wellington on 5 January 1918.
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Roy Cowan held his very first exhibition at the French Maid Coffee House in 1947.
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Roy Cowan held exhibitions at New Zealand's first modern dealer gallery, the Wellington-based Helen Hitchings Gallery.
5.
Roy Cowan worked for the Education Department in the School Publications branch from 1955.
6.
At a time when knowledge and use of oil-fired kilns in New Zealand was limited, Roy Cowan built and experimented with oil-fired kilns, assisting other potters and contributing to wider knowledge of kiln-building and firing.
7.
Roy Cowan worked for the QEII Arts Council and the Department of Foreign Affairs as a commissioner, curating touring exhibitions of New Zealand art for international audiences.
8.
In 1999 Roy Cowan was included in The Eighties Show at The Dowse Art Museum, an exhibition of artists who were still active in their eighties, including Doreen Blumhardt, John Drawbridge, Juliet Peter, and Avis Higgs.
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Roy Cowan's work was shown alongside Juliet Peter's in 2014 at The Dowse Art Museum in A Modest Modernism: Roy Cowan and Juliet Peter.
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In 1945, Roy Cowan was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his service in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II.
11.
Roy Cowan was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to pottery, in the 2000 New Year Honours.
12.
Roy Cowan's work is held in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Dowse Art Museum, and the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu.
13.
Roy Cowan created a large scale ceramic wall mural for the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, and a mural for the foyer of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand in Wellington.