Image Not Available
for William H. Howe
William H. Howe
American, 1928-2009
Howe's father was a cotton entomologist (a person who studies insects) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Fearing a homeland attack by the Japanese after the start of World War II, he moved the family from Santa Cruz, California, to middle America. They arrived in Ottawa, Kansas, in 1942.
His father introduced his son to the world of butterflies. Howe recalls a day when he was five years old and his father brought home a screen of caterpillars, leaving them on the dining room table. One day, the caterpillars turned into chrysalis and then full-blown butterflies. Young Bill was mesmerized. He accompanied his father on butterfly collecting trips and by the age of 11 was an avid collector himself. Howe graduated from Ottawa University in 1951 with a degree in biology. He went on to study at the Kansas City Art Institute where he refined his watercolor techniques. Howe prefers to work in a looser style-creating landscapes with butterflies as subjects, using acrylic paints. He continues to work from his home in Ottawa where he paints by commission and also for his own enjoyment. His art can be found in institutions across the country, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Los Angeles County Museum and the Kansas Museum of History.
Person TypeIndividual
Yanktonai Dakota (Sioux), 1915-1983
Citizen Band Potawatomi/Muscogee (Creek), 1912-1989
Southern Cheyenne, 1912-1996
