GOWER, Alice Lilian
Alice Lilian Gower was born at Paddington, London on 23 January 1879, daughter of John Nathaniel Gower, an army captain, and his wife Elizabeth Erskine Forbes-Mitchell (c1840-17 May 1928), youngest daughter of the late Duncan Forbes-Mitchell (31 October 1812-13 August 1870) of Thainston and Easter Beltie, Aberdeenshire, who married at St Mary’s Episcopal House, Inverary, Aberdeen, Scotland on 20 September 1870. In 1881, they were living at West Tower, Norwich Road, Ipswich and were still there in 1891, 45-year-old John and 51-year-old Elizabeth, with children John Forbes 13, born in Scotland, Alice 12, and Hugh Duncan 8, both born in Ipswich, with four indoor servants. Alice studied at Colchester Technical College, passing her examinations in 1896 in model drawing and in 1899 in drawing in light and shade. By 1901, Alice had moved to 54 Creffield Road, Colchester, Essex and in 1911, she was living at 3 Queen's Road, Colchester with her 71-year-old widowed mother Elizabeth. A member of Ipswich Art Club 1910-1919 and exhibited from Dacca House, Queen's Road, Colchester in 1911, four oil paintings 'Near Playford', 'On the Meuse', 'Off Harwich' and 'Evening' and in 1916 two works 'The Brittany Coast' and 'The Back of Ullswater' and was a regular annual exhibitor of three or four painting a year until 1920, and in 1923 she exhibited two watercolours 'Wallflowers' and 'The Amo', in all exhibiting some 30 works. In 1939, Alice Lilian Gower was working for the Ambulance Service and living at 233 Maldon Road, Colchester where she died on 18 May 1958, aged 79, she was unmarried.