Thomas Fowke
Born 1827
Died 1887 (Presumed)
Active: 1851 - 1877
Country of birth and death: England
Sculptor, painter, medallist
Born in Quarndon, Derbyshire. He was baptised on 8 August 1827. His father was Thomas Fowke, no details about his occupation are known although he may be connected to the Fowke family of jewellers in Finsbury. By 1841 Thomas Fowke's father was dead and the young Thomas was placed temporarily in the British Orphan Asylum, Brixton. This turn of affairs appears to be confirmed by a bust Fowke exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1865 of Edward MacKenzie Esq of Fawley Court (cat. no. 1023) with the accompanying statement: 'To be executed in marble or bronze and presented to the British Orphan Asylum, Slough, by the artist.' At some point in the 1840s Fowke was reunited with his two siblings and their mother who had remarried in 1841. Thomas's stepfather was George Rogers (born c.1787 in London) a tobacco and snuff manufacturer employing 1 man in 1851.
It is probable Fowke was a pupil of William Behnes since the younger artist used the sculptor's address when exhibiting at the Royal Academy between 1851 and 1854. During the 1850s Fowke studied at the Royal Academy Schools and was awarded a silver medal. He exhibited regularly for eighteen years but by 1871 was describing himself as a market gardener. A few works date from after this but no information about his later life has been traced so far. A possible death date of 1887 has been given.
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited. Click here for more information.
Locations
Address British Orphan Asylum Brixton London | View on map
1841
This is probably the correct Thomas Fowke, based on his portrait of Edward MacKenzie Esq of Fawley Court, which was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1865 (cat. no. 1023) with the accompanying statement: 'To be executed in marble or bronze and presented to the British Orphan Asylum, Slough, by the artist.'
Address High Street Finsbury Londond | View on map
1851
Address 13 Osnaburgh Street London | View on map
1851 (Circa) - 1854 (Circa)
Address 11 Mornington Place Hampstead Road London | View on map
1856 (Circa) - 1862 (Circa)
Address Park Lodge Percy Cross, Fulham London | View on map
1864 (Circa) - 1869 (Circa)
Address Heath Row House Hounslow London | View on map
1870 (Circa) - 1871 (Circa)
Address 2 Cornwall Residences Regent's Park London | View on map
1877
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Fourth, 1852
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1851 - 1877
Exhibited 18 times, thirty-six works in all (largely medallions and portraits though some ideal works of sporting and poetic subjects)
Institutional and Business Connections
Studied at Royal Academy Schools
1859 (Presumed)
Awarded a 'Second Silver Medal' for 'models from life' on the 10 Decemeber 1959: see the Royal Academy 'Annual Report', (1861), p. 28.
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
'Sculptor'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
'Sculptor Painter etc. etc.'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
'Market Gardner'
Sources
England, Select Derbyshire, Church of England Parish Registers, 1538-1910
2014
Name: Thomas Fowke
Gender: Male
Baptism Date: 8 Aug 1827
Baptism Place: Quarndon, Quarndon, Derbyshire, England
Father: Thomas Fowke
Mother: Ann Fowke
FHL Film Number: 1041444
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841
2004
Class: HO107; Piece: 1053; Book: 9; Civil Parish: Clapham; County: Surrey; Enumeration District: British Orphan Asylum; Folio: 21; Page: 2; Line: 9; GSU roll: 474652
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851
2004
Enumeration district 7
Series HO107
Piece number 1509
Folio 234
Page 10
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
2004
Class: RG 9; Piece: 95; Folio: 116; Page: 22; GSU roll: 542572
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
2004
Class: RG10; Piece: 1305; Folio: 126; Page: 25; GSU roll: 838777
England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Thomas Fowke
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1828
Date of Registration: Apr-May-Jun 1887
Age at Death: 59
Registration district: Pancras
Inferred County: London
Volume: 1b
Page: 30
The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, The Eighty-Fourth, 1852
1852
Citing this record
'Thomas Fowke', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib4_1255016068, accessed 11 Jul 2020]
