Bowser, David Bustill, 1820-1900

David Bustill Bowser (January 16, 1820, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – June 30, 1900, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a 19th-century African-American ornamental artist and portraitist. grandson of Cyrus Bustill (1732–1806), a formerly enslaved man who purchased his freedom and went on to become a founding member of Philadelphia's Free African Society, and a son of oyster house proprietor Jeremiah Bowser (1766–1856), whose freedom had been purchased by a group of Philadelphia Quakers after he had been arrested for being a fugitive slave.[4]

A member of the prominent Bustill family, he was a cousin and student of artist Robert Douglass Jr., who trained at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was a pupil of Thomas Sully.[5][6] David Bustill Bowser also attended the private school operated by Douglass's sister, Sarah Mapps Douglass.[7]

Married to seamstress Elizabeth Harriet Stevens Gray (June 13, 1831 – November 29, 1908), David Bustill Bowser and his wife were the parents of artist Raphael Bowser and Ida Elizabeth (Bowser) Asbury (1870–1955), a violinist and music teacher. Respected for their civic engagement and philanthropy, David B. and Elizabeth Bowser supported their family by designing and painting banners, signs, uniform hats and other regalia for fraternal associations, political groups, and volunteer fire companies in and beyond Philadelphia.[8]
+During the 1840s, Bowser painted banners for a diverse range of clients, including the Know Nothing Party, and received a commission to paint the portrait of prominent abolitionist and real estate developer Jacob C. White. Active in that decade's efforts to repeal the clause in Pennsylvania's Constitution which prohibited blacks from voting, Bowser and his family also became so involved with the abolition movement that their home became a stop on the Underground Railroad. In 1858, politics and advocacy merged with art when Bower painted the portrait of abolitionist John Brown while Brown was visiting the Bowser home. During this same period, Bowser also completed work on his painting, The Firebell in the Night.[6] In addition, he was also active, during this phase of his life, with the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows. As Grand Master of the Order in Philadelphia, he delivered the keynote address at the Annual Moveable Committee of the G.U.O. of O.F. in Toronto, Canada on October 17, 1859, as its members celebrated the organization's thirteenth anniversary. During the American Civil War, Bowser joined with several other prominent members of Philadelphia's African-American community to begin recruiting soldiers in 1862[10] in the event that the federal government would permit large numbers of black soldiers to enlist following the 1863 announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln. Bowser was then commissioned in early 1863 to design banners and battle flags for eleven of those African-American regiments in preparation for their respective mustering at Camp William Penn, which was located just outside of Philadelphia.[6][11][12]

Bowser's work on the first banner was paid for through a commission awarded by the Contraband Relief Association (CRA), an organization headed by Elizabeth Keckley, the formerly enslaved woman who became Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker. Post-war, Bowser continued his involvement with the Grand and United Order of Odd Fellows, ultimately becoming a G.U.O. of O.F. officer,[17][18] and was also active with several other black fraternal orders but, artistically, his creativity and productivity were limited by his inability to obtain additional major commissions. As a result, he and his wife increasingly turned to designing and producing organizational banners and regalia.[6]

Frequently involved in his community as a civic leader, he also became increasingly active in politics. In 1867, he was appointed by the leadership of the Pennsylvania Equal Rights League, with William D. Forten and Octavius V. Catto, to represent the League in securing "passage of a bill through the Legislature forbidding the exclusion of persons from public conveyances" anywhere in Pennsylvania "on account of race or color." They were successful.[19]

In 1870, he was selected to preside over the "jubilee procession" and "mass meeting" which took place at Philadelphia's Horticultural Hall on April 26. Bowser died in Philadelphia on June 30, 1900, and was buried at the Eden Cemetery in Collingdale, Pennsylvania.

During the 1940s, a major portion of his legacy was nearly obscured forever when the original Civil War battle flags he had designed were removed from the military museum at West Point, where they had been stored since the war. After the flags were thrown away, all that remained were the seven images described above (under "American Civil War").[6]

David B. Bowser (1820-1900) was the son of Elizabeth and Jeremiah Bowser. He was a noted emblem designer and Painter, A friend of President Lincoln, Bowser painted many portraits of Lincoln, including one which the President sat for. He painted flags for many of the Black troops who participated in the Civil War. Photographs of some of these flags can be found in Series M. Bowser was an active abolitionist. He perhaps was most active as a member of the United Order of Odd Fellows. He held numerous positions in that organization.