Henry Howard

Henry Howard (1769–1847) was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy Schools, winning a gold medal in 1790. He traveled to Italy in 1791, spending several years studying the Old Masters and antique sculpture. He became one of the leading academic painters in early nineteenth-century Britain, specializing in mythological and allegorical subjects.

Howard served as Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy from 1833 and later as Secretary of the Academy, positions that gave him significant institutional influence. His lectures on painting were published and widely read. His paintings of classical and mythological subjects display the refined, idealized style of British academic classicism, influenced by Raphael and the antique.

He was elected a Royal Academician in 1808 and remained an important figure in the Academy establishment until his death in Oxford on 5 October 1847.

Howard's paintings display the refined classicism of the British academic tradition, with gracefully posed figures in mythological settings rendered with careful drawing and harmonious color. His compositions are balanced and dignified, following the academic principles of ideal beauty and classical proportion that he advocated in his lectures.

His palette is warm and restrained, with the soft, luminous tones characteristic of British classical painting. His figures are idealized and graceful, reflecting his study of Raphael and antique sculpture.

Howard was an important figure in the British academic establishment, serving as Professor of Painting and Secretary of the Royal Academy. His lectures on painting contributed to the theoretical framework of British academic art education.

His career represents the classical strand in British painting that coexisted with the Romantic movement, demonstrating the continued influence of Raphael and the antique in British artistic training.