Background
She was born in Kent, Washington, and earned an English degree from the University of Washington.
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Betty Bowen
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University of Washington.
Career
She worked briefly as a reporter for The Seattle Times, and later as women"s editor for the Seattle Star. Bowen played a role in founding the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) and many other important artistic institutions. Founding SAM Director Richard Fuller saw the potential in Bowen and promoted her to the first assistant director of the SAM. She died of a brain tumor in 1977 at the age of 58.
She was declared a First Citizen of Seattle two days before her death.
Seattle Art Museum gives an annual Betty Bowen Award in her honor. The small Marshall Park, about a block from where she lived, features the Betty Bowen Viewpoint with a view over Smith Cove, Elliott Bay and Puget Sound.
There are several unsigned works cast in the concrete walkway by the viewpoint. Contributing artists include Morris Graves, Margaret Tompkins, Victor Steinbrueck, Guy Anderson, Kenneth Callahan and Charles Stokes.
Achievements
Membership
Bowen was an original member of the Seattle Arts Commission, a founding member of the Pacific Northwest Arts and Crafts Center, and helped to found the Allied Arts Historic Preservation Committee, of which she became chair after its founding.
