Alfie Bowen

Call of the Wild represents the 22-year-old's struggles with autism and the passion for protecting animals that saved him during his darkest moments. This trio of monochromatic black-and-white photographs captures the intense beauty of the animal kingdom and is ideal for creating a statement wall in your living room, bedroom or dining space.

Featured by BBC Earth and lauded by Sir David Attenborough, Alfie's emotional scenes were recently the subject of a feature-length documentary and will appear in his book released in September 2021. The Call of the Wild collection symbolises his remarkable journey from a child bullied for his autism to one of the UK's most exciting contemporary artists.

The hand-signed giclée prints depict a lion, chimpanzee and leopard, making them an ideal gift for anyone passionate about wildlife. Presented on a museum-quality cotton paper, the artworks are framed in a sustainable black pine and spruce that gives these stylish pieces a contemporary feel.

To capture the amazing detail of the flamingo, zebra, elephant and lion, a selection of traditional and high-tech printing methods has been used. This includes silver gelatin printing, which has enhanced the scenes, creating incredibly crisp contrasts between the black and white shades. Widely used for early 20th-century black-and-white photography, this method involves projecting a negative image onto paper that has been treated with silver compounds suspended in gelatin before bathing the paper in a series of chemical baths to reveal the monochromatic image.

For the vivid colours of the flamingo, our specialist atelier team used C-type printing, whereby the silver compound layers are dyed three different colours - cyan, magenta and yellow - to produce a spectrum of tones and shades. The fragile nature of the two methods, along with the world-class quality of the fine art prints they create, make silver gelatin printing and C-type printing the most established forms of printing amongst professional photographers.

Award-winning photographer Alfie, whose work has been praised by Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham, received his first camera in 2015. Since then, Alfie has tirelessly honed his craft capturing the intense beauty of the world’s animal kingdom. His art not only brings tenderly-observed photographs of wildlife to millions, but has also helped him find his own place in the world. His incredible focus and gift for capturing the most startling moments in the animal kingdom is, in Alfie’s words, as a result of his autism, which has had a profound effect on the young photographer’s life.

We’re hugely proud to announce that in a first for Castle Fine Art, two of our wildlife artists have collaborated on a new piece. This limited edition work combines the stunning wildlife photography skills of Alfie Bowen with Robert Oxley’s signature kaleidoscopic use of colour and form. The result is ‘Baikal’ - Alfie’s captivating photograph of a white tiger looking straight down his camera lens, completed with Robert’s signature psychedelic paint style, applied sympathetically to the image.

We release this piece in collaboration with The Big Cat Sanctuary, where Alfie and Robert met, and fell in love with, one of the sanctuary’s most popular and famous residents. Baikal is a gorgeous white tiger named after Lake Baikal in Siberia who has been at home at The Big Cat Sanctuary since 2020. Castle Fine Art will donate £100 from every sale to the Sanctuary.

Featuring previously unseen photography of animals like red pandas, eagles, elephants and giraffes, the 228-page hardback book includes personal essays by Alfie and a foreword by Chris Packham, who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome - a high-functioning form of autism that affects social skills - as an adult. Highlighted by ITV News and The Times newspaper, it is the perfect space saver and will make a stunning addition to any bookshelf or coffee table.

The book is currently out of stock, register your interest below. 

Before launching his debut Call of the Wild collection in April 2021, our new artist Alfie Bowen released his inspirational An Eye For Detail documentary on the WaterBear network. The documentary takes us through Alfie's rise from a child struggling with undiagnosed autism and relentless bullying to a renowned wildlife photographer with a fan base that includes high-profile figures such as Richard Branson, David Attenborough, and the philanthropist John Caudwell