William Leslie Bowles

William Leslie Bowles * 26 February 1885 at Leichhardt, Sydney, Australia) was an Australian sculptor and medallist . He died on 21 February 1954 at Frankston, Victoria).^{[1] [2] [3]}

Education

He started at Kangaroo Point State School, Brisbane. After studying at the Brisbane Technical College Leslie-Bowles won 1910 a scholarship for studies in Great Britain. There he met other sculptors like Sir Bertram Mackennal, and he was a student at the Royal Academy.

Life

Bowles was a soldier in the First World War. He lived in England until his marriage with Mary Lees of Kelso in 1924. Australia. Then they lived in Prahran, Melbourne. He was survived by his wife.

Work

The reverse of the Australian Florin 1951 was designed by William Leslie Bowles to commemorate the 50 Years of the Commonwealth of Australia. This coin carries the standard obverse designed by Thomas Humphrey Paget

He started work in Mackennal's studio. After the war he worked and exhibited in England. Later in the Twenties in Australia, William Leslie Bowles was employed at Melbourne Exhibition Building on the Australian War Memorial. In 1926 he had become a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors. He became mainly connected with the design of large monuments, nevertheless he was also invited to design Australian coins and medals.

Notes

1. "William Leslie Bowles". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851–1951. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
2. "William Leslie Bowles". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
3. Underhill, Nancy D. H. "Bowles, William Leslie (1885–1954)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 2 October 2013.