Edward Owen (artist)

Edward Owen (died 1741) was a Welsh artist; the son of minor nobility from Penrhos on Anglesey, who held an apprenticeship in London with the artist Thomas Gibson.[1]

Self-portrait of Edward Owen

Owen was the son of Robert and Ann Owen. His maternal uncle was Dr Edward Wynn (or Wynne) of Bodewryd, who was Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral.[2] Edward Owen had two brothers, William and Hugh; their mother's correspondence with them is held among the Penrhos papers at Bangor University.[3]

Owen never became a prominent artist, but painted one of Wales' oldest professional self-portraits.[1] His letters also provide a historical record of 1700s life in the London art scene.[1] Although a promising artist, some time during 1732 he was mugged and badly beaten while returning late at night from Covent Garden. He survived but never fully recovered from his injuries, which left him mostly blind and deaf. He returned home, and his subsequent works are nowhere near the quality of his earlier London pieces.[1]

Owen died in 1741, apparently from consumption.[1]