Fogg Art Museum Deputy Director Bowen Dies of Cancer at 54

Craigen Weston Bowen, deputy director of the Straus Center for Conservation at the Fogg Art Museum, died of cancer at her home in Lexington, Mass. earlier this month. She was 54.

Bowen is remembered for the relentless energy that she brought to her passions for art conservation, gardening, and rock climbing.

Bowen’s younger brother, Frederick W. Weston III, recounted spending the past Fourth of July with his sister at their family lake house in Maine, saying that as the rest of their family relaxed before the annual antique wooden boat parade, Bowen was busy planting a bush, “with her gardening shears and all, up until the moment the family boat pulled up to the dock.”

Beyond her love of gardening, Bowen also loved to rock-climb and was an admirer of Jane Austen. During the last week of Bowen’s life, Weston said that he and his wife stayed with other family members and friends by Bowen’s side and read Pride and Prejudice to her in its entirety.

As a teenager in suburban New Jersey, Bowen was a top student who took some of the most difficult classes at her high school.

“Craigen was the older sister that every sibling should have,” Weston said. “By watching what she did, I knew what I should do. She always had interesting people around her and was intellectually engaged.”

Weston said he remembered when Bowen was chosen as student of the month and written about in the high school newspaper. The article said that Bowen planned to study studio art in college. This was the first time that the family had learned about her interest in art, Weston said.

Bowen attended Smith College and studied multiple subjects, ultimately graduating with a double-major in astronomy and studio art, as well as a minor in physics.

At the Straus Center, Bowen gained a reputation as an expert conservator who specialized in art on paper.

Colleagues remembered Bowen as someone with a passion for her work who always showed interest in the people around her.

“She always had time for you,” said fellow Straus Center conservator Anne Driesse. “She would work all day, but she always had time for students and colleagues.”

Bowen was particularly involved with training young post-doctoral conservators from all over the world.

Straus Director Henry Lie said that Bowen’s students and colleagues respected her for her honesty and directness.

“Craigen was a good teacher because she was just very open with whatever she was thinking,” Lie said. “What you saw was what you got.”