Background
He was born in Belfast in 1799. His father dies whilst he was young and the family lived in relative poverty.
He was born in Belfast in 1799. His father dies whilst he was young and the family lived in relative poverty.
From 1807 to 1811 he boarded at a school in Belfast, run by an engraver named Gordon, who encouraged his attempts at drawing, and from 1811 to 1813 he was under the tuition of a clergyman in Hampshire. Around 1811 he moved with his mother to Hampshire in England, where they had relatives. In 1813, aged 14 (the then standard age to begin apprenticeships), he was apprenticed to a coach-builder in London.
However, his master went bankrupt and his training as a coach-builder ended abruptly.
During this time he was lodging in the house of Pierre Francois Chenu, the sculptor. lieutenant is presumed that this engendered an interest in sculpture within the young MacDowell.
On the recommendation of John Constable the painter, he went to the Royal Academy Schools and he exhibited at the Academy from 1822 until his death. He was elected a Member on 10 February 1846 and presented as his diploma work a "Nymph.".
MacDowell died in London on 9 December 1870.
Royal Academy of Arts.