Frank Howland (1840-1868) Female Nude

The Artwork :

This work is a magnificent oil painting on mahogany panel by the 19th-century American artist Frank Howland.
It is very charming, executed with great lightness and sensitivity. It depicts a seated female nude, seen from the side, a theme found in other works by the artist, and this one is particularly successful.

The pose is rendered with a rich and vibrant color palette, notably blue, white, and red draperies, as well as a delicate green.
Its colors were compared to a "bouquet of flowers" by contemporary art critics for similar works. Part of her face is in shadow, suggesting her beauty, and she also elegantly reveals her chest.

The work is signed in the lower right corner (visible in the photograph). The style reflects the influence of the artist's European training and his adherence to the aesthetic movement of the mid-19th century. Works by this artist are rare on the art market; his very promising career was abruptly cut short by his untimely death.

The Artist :

Frank Howland (1840-1868), born in the United States.

The American artist Frank Howland was known for his portraits and genre paintings of the mid-19th century. Although details of his life are scarce, Howland traveled to Paris in 1858 with colleagues John Gardner Low and Charles Caryl Colman to study under the French history painter Thomas Couture (1815–1879) and the Barbizon painter Constant Tryon (1810–1865).

A painting of a woman reclining among draperies was praised by a New York Times critic who compared the colors of this figurative work to those of a bouquet of flowers, “full of color and freshness.” He continued: “Her shoulders emerge from the rich draperies, exquisitely modeled and graceful. Her head is in shadow, revealing a faint touch of blond hair and warm colors.

It is a painting that shows a knowledge of Diaz, Monticelli, and Alfred Stevens, perhaps, while retaining intact its individuality and subtle racial touch.” Howland remained in Paris for the next six years. In 1861, Howland exhibited three works at the thirty-sixth annual exhibition of the National Academy of Design.

A critic for the New York Daily Herald described Howland's painting, The Rendez vous, as "a picture of broad proportions, combining both feeling and strength." In 1865, the Old Düsseldorf Gallery in New York held an auction to benefit artists.

Howland's works were displayed alongside those of other important American artists, including John Francis Cropsey and George Henry Yewell. Howland subsequently exhibited several works at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts during the Spring Annual Exhibitions of 1866 and 1868. Howland's promising career was cut short by his untimely death. In 1909, the Watson Gallery in New York posthumously exhibited works by the artist, including a pictorial head with a long blond beard, used as a model by the French painter Hugues Merle (1822-1881) for his Head of Christ. Finally, Howland painted pictures of such distinguished quality that they withstand the difficult juxtaposition of antique pottery and tapestries without losing their character—a test that, surprisingly, few modern paintings can pass. All of his criticisms are reflected in the painting featured in our Rotomagus Gallery.