Charles Howard

Happy Birthday Charles Howard!! Born in 1899 in New York City, Howard was a modern artist working in Abstract-Surrealism. He came from an artistic family, his father an architect. He graduated from University of California at Berkeley and did graduate work at Harvard and Columbia Universities in English. During a trip abroad, Howard met Grant Wood who encouraged him to pursue painting. He returned to New York City and worked as a painter in a decorating firm, allowing him the free time to sketch. After his marriage to an Englishwoman and their subsequent move to England, Howard was able to surround himself with fellow artists and inspiration. His work was avant-garde for the time, as Surrealism did not really “hit” America until the mid 30’s. He has been described to seek a balance between the intangible “surrealist” world and more traditional painting. The image I am including today is titled The Factory (1934).