author
Frank Howard
1805–1866
A busy figure in 19th-century British art, this painter and writer turned Shakespeare scenes, drawing lessons, and big ideas about art into books that were meant to reach ordinary readers as well as artists.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in London around 1805, Frank Howard was the son of the painter Henry Howard, and he trained both with his father and at the Royal Academy schools. Early in his career he also worked as an assistant to Sir Thomas Lawrence, placing him close to the center of British art in the first half of the 19th century.
Howard exhibited paintings at the British Institution and the Royal Academy, including literary and historical subjects such as scenes from Shakespeare. Alongside painting, he became well known as an art writer and illustrator, publishing books on drawing and picture-making that aimed to explain visual art in a clear, practical way.
His career is a nice example of an artist working across several forms at once: painter, illustrator, teacher, and author. He died in Liverpool in 1866, leaving behind both artworks and instructional books that helped bring art theory and practice to a wider public.