Denis Bowen (1921 - 2006) was born in Kimberley, South Africa. Having lost his parents in an accident at a young age, Bowen's orphaned status meant he were to emigrate to the United Kingdom to live with aunt, in Huddersfield.

In 1936 Bowen enrolled at the Huddersfield School of Art, and, after graduating, he was due to take up a place at the Royal College of Art. However, with the outbreak of World War II, his studies were postponed whilst he served as a Chief Naval Radar Operator working in the North Atlantic.

Not only was Denis Bowen a practising artist, but he also founded the New Vision Centre Gallery - becoming a patron for some highly distinguished names in the international art scene including Aubrey Williams and Arpana Caur, and following college, he held a number of teaching posts.

Bowen's teaching roles included Kingston Institute of art, Hammersmith School of Arts, Birmingham School of Art, Central School of Art and Design, the Royal College of Art and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver Canada. 

Throughout his life Bowen mentored and inspired - and also collected - amassing a wonderful array of work from some global names as well as many of the emerging artists of the day.