Cowell, Thomas

Thomas Cowell (1870-1949) was a principal glass painter for James Powell & Sons (Whitefriars) Ltd. He began work at Powells after leaving school at 14, and left in 1932, aged 62. He then continued to work freelance and completed his last commission in 1946. He studied art and in 1888 was awarded a certificate of merit for proficiency in glass painting by Regent Street Polytechnic. During his long career, Cowell worked closely with the artist Louis Davis (executing and sometimes adapting his work) and struck up friendships with fellow stained glass artists including Charles J. Connick, Douglas Strachan and George Cooper Abbs.

Cowell’s major commissions include executing stained glass windows for St. Matthews church, Surbiton in the 1920s (including the Clayton Memorial windows), the American Church of Paris, Quai d’ Orsay c.1934, a window of St. Margaret of Scotland for a display at the Wembley Empire Exhibition 1924 and 1925, and windows for a church in Stockholm c. 1920.

Source: Description of ‘Cowell, Thomas (1870-1949), Thomas Cowell, stained glass artist: papers, 1880 – 1985. V&A Archive of Art and Design. GB 73 AAD/1992/1’ on the Archives Hub website, [http://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/data/gb73-aad/1992/1]