Irene D. Fowler was born in Illinois on Dec. 14, 1884. Fowler spent most of her career in Denver, Colorado where she taught in the public schools. However, she was active in San Diego in 1929. Unmarried, she died in Denver in May 1969.

Irene Fowler was one of the founding members of the Denver Artist's Guild (now the Colorado Artist's Guild) established in 1928. A painter of Colorado landscapes, she worked plein air — outdoors in the Impressionist manner — portraying subjects identified with the Rocky Mountain West. She also included still life paintings of flowers in her repertoire of oils and watercolors.

In 1948, a group of artists working in diverse modernist styles broke off from the Denver Artist's Guild. They staged a separate exhibit at the Denver Art Museum adjoining that of the guild. Running into early 1949, these dueling shows prompted an intense reaction in the newspapers, with columnists intensifying the division with more traditional artists. A headline declared "Time for Showdown in Artist's Range War." So it is interesting that Fowler became guild president in 1950. In many respects her art was the counter point to the moderns' rebellion, and her elevation to this role signaled holding down the fort in this conflict. Yet one must allow for other factors, such as possibly having the right disposition to move beyond the schism. She served until 1952.

A public school teacher, Fowler exhibited in the local available venues, including Chappell House (the future Denver Art Museum), the University Club Denver, Denver Community Art Center, and the Broadmoor. She had a solo exhibition at the Schlier Gallery.

Exhibited: Chappell House, Denver; Schlier Gallery, Denver; Denver Community Art Center; The University Club, Denver, 1957; and The Broadmoor Art Gallery, Colorado Springs; Colorado History