William Howis facts for kids

William Howis, also known as William Howis the elder, was an Irish artist who lived from 1804 to 1882. He was famous for his beautiful landscape paintings.

Early Life and Family

William Howis was born in County Waterford, Ireland, in 1804. His father, Edward Howis, was also an artist, well-known for painting animals. The Howis family followed the Presbyterian faith.

When William was young, he attended the Royal Dublin Society schools starting in 1821. He was a talented student and won prizes there in 1823 and 1826. By 1828, he began showing his artwork at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) for the first time.

In 1825, William married Dorothea Rogers. They had two sons: William, who also became an artist, and James. The family moved homes several times in Dublin. Sadly, in late 1849, both his wife Dorothea and son James passed away. A few years later, in 1854, his house was destroyed by fire. After this, he moved to his last home at 22 Jervis Street in Dublin.

Artistic Career

William Howis regularly showed his paintings at the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA) until 1863. He was a dedicated artist, but one day, something happened that changed his career.

In 1863, William visited an RHA exhibition. He discovered that his paintings had been moved from their original spots to a less noticeable area. He became very angry and, in a moment of frustration, he cut the painting closest to him right out of its frame! After this incident, William Howis never exhibited his art again.

He is best known for his stunning landscape paintings. He also created copies of works by another artist, James Arthur O'Connor. Some of these copies were so good that people sometimes mistook them for O'Connor's original paintings! Besides landscapes, William Howis also painted portraits of people. One famous portrait he painted was of Sir James Dombrain, who was in charge of the Coastguards of Ireland.

Later Years and Legacy

In November 1873, William Howis moved into the Old Men's Asylum on Northbrook Road in Dublin. He lived there for nearly ten years until he passed away on October 7, 1882.

Interestingly, some of the sketchbooks from his time in the Asylum are now kept at the National Gallery of Ireland. These books contain funny drawings of the people he lived with there. People who knew William Howis said he was quite smart and could speak both the Irish and Hebrew languages. When he died, he left his books to the Abbey Presbyterian Church in Dublin.