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October 19, 2018 - Remembering Joe Bowman (1945-2017)

Joe Bowman

 

Estate of Photographer Joe Bowman Gifts CAMP Rehoboth

Fashion & Fine Arts Photographer September 11, 1945 – December 12, 2017

Despite Bowman’s legions of fans throughout the City of Brotherly Love, Steve McLerran of Rehoboth initially thought Joe was “a pushy photographer hounding me to book him to shoot my fashion campaigns.” But he soon learned that Joe Bowman was the ambassador for the Philly community with an “uncanny knack for connecting people who shared his free-spirited, artistic, maybe-a-little-twisted take on life.”

According to McLerran, “After all, I am Mr. Philadelphia,” was a frequent non-sequitur Joe Bowman “shamelessly inserted into many conversations. It was another crowning badge of honor, and he made certain you would not forget it!”

Bowman-Horse

McLerran says, “Although he proclaimed the guest room at our house was the Joe Bowman Suite, he didn’t need Larry and me to introduce him to the joys of our little beach town. Long before we were buying cocktail party paté at the long-gone Company Store, Joe and his posse were regulars on Poodle Beach, North Shores, and the club circuit frenzy here in Sussex County. (Yes, there was one.)”

Even as health and age started to dim his spotlight, Bowman would answer his phone with “Do you have any gossip for me?”

On December 12, 2017, Bowman passed away. Almost a year later, on Friday, October 19, the William Way Center in Philadelphia hosted the Joe Bowman Cocktail Party—with tributes from his infamous Rolodex of friends sharing their own “back in the day” stories about Joe. Many guests also contributed to the newly established Bowman Legacy Fund for ongoing preservation and conservation of images that captured gay life in the big city.

The executor of the estate of photographer and Rehoboth friend Joe Bowman has gifted two of Joe’s favorite pieces to CAMP Rehoboth in recognition of the well-known Philadelphia photographer’s love for Rehoboth Beach.

Signed and numbered, Horse Play and Miami Palms  are valuable black and white fantasy works of art that fuel the imagination with high-octane fun.
Bowman, who died in 2017, was a frequent Rehoboth visitor in between his photo shoots in such hot spots as 1980s New York, L.A., P-town, London, San Juan, and South Beach.

Bowman-Miami Palms

In addition to the photographs the estate has gifted to CAMP Rehoboth, Joe’s estate is also awarding some of his pieces to New York’s Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, where his artwork has been exhibited over the years. ▼

(Top to bottom) Joe Bowman’s Horse Play 1993, 10" x 15", and Miami Palms 1999, 6.5" x 10"
 

‹ October 19, 2018 - CAMP Cheers! up October 19, 2018 - RB Film Festival Preview ›

Past Issues

Issues Index

  • November 16, 2018 - Issue Index
  • October 19, 2018 - Issue Index
    • October 19, 2018 - Cover-to-cover with ISSUU
    • October 19, 2018 - The Way I See It by Murray Archibald
    • October 19, 2018 - Speak Out
    • October 19, 2018 - In Brief
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMPmatters by Murray Archibald
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP Out by Fay Jacobs
    • October 19, 2018 - President's View by Chris Beagle
    • October 19, 2018 - Out & Proud by Stefani Deoul
    • October 19, 2018 - View Point by Richard Rosendall
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP News
    • October 19, 2018 - Straight Talk by David Garrett
    • October 19, 2018 - The Real Dirt by Eric W. Wahl
    • October 19, 2018 - It's My Life by Michael Thomas Ford
    • October 19, 2018 - Eating Out by Fay Jacobs
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP Rehoboth Health & Wellness
    • October 19, 2018 - Intentionally Inclusive by Wesley Combs
    • October 19, 2018 - Community News
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP Stories by Rich Barnett
    • October 19, 2018 - Volunteer Spotlight - Michael DeFlavia
    • October 19, 2018 - Volunteer Thank You
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP Cheers!
    • October 19, 2018 - Remembering Joe Bowman (1945-2017)
    • October 19, 2018 - RB Film Festival Preview
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMPshots Gallery 1
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMPshots Gallery 2
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMPshots Gallery 3
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP Interview by Chris Azzopardi
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP News - Kay Cummings by Michael Gillies
    • October 19, 2018 - Out & About by Eric C. Peterson
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP Arts by Doug Yetter
    • October 19, 2018 - Booked Solid by Terri Schlichenmeyer
    • October 19, 2018 - CAMP Dates - October 19 – December12
  • September 21, 2018 - Issue Index
  • August 24, 2018 - Issue Index
  • August 10, 2018 - Issue Index
  • July 27, 2018 - Issue Index
  • July 13, 2018 - Issue Index
  • June 29, 2018 - Issue Index
  • June 15, 2018 - Issue Index
  • June 1, 2018 - Issue Index
  • May 18, 2018 - Issue Index
  • May 4, 2018 - Issue Index
  • April 6, 2018 - Issue Index
  • March 9, 2018 - Issue Index
  • January 26, 2018 - Issue Index

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