Rowan Nathaniel House (December 13, 1908 – January 26, 1947) was a mid-20th-century artist. He used a variety of media including oil on canvas, watercolor, and pen and ink.

Early life

House was born in Mississippi, U.S.A. to Nathaniel Perkins House (banker, cotton merchant, and farmer) and Rowena Thayer. He spent his childhood in Mineral Wells, just south of Memphis, Tennessee and later attended the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. After the U.S. Wall Street Crash of 1929, he returned to Cleveland, Mississippi to graduate from Delta State college (now Delta State University). He was stricken with polio at the age of 19 which affected his left arm and leg, both of which were considerably smaller and weaker throughout his life as a result. He utilized the techniques of Elizabeth Kenny in the treatment of his condition.

Career

During the years following the

great depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, House supported himself primarily through commercial art in Memphis, Tennessee. In particular, he painted portraits for young southern debutantes celebrating their coming out parties. Many such portraits were reproduced in the Commercial Appeal, the daily newspaper in Memphis. In 1935, House married Maxine Boggan and later moved to New York City, New York. While there, he earned a living both as a commercial artist and a free-lance artist. The subject which House captured in his paintings most frequently was life in the "

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

". Many of his works centered on cotton farming, farm workers, and various scenery relating to the rural lifestyle of early 20th century Mississippi. He was well known for his pen and ink drawings as well as portraits of many notable people of the South.

Death

After the outbreak of World War II, House was hired by the

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

to work on training films for pilots. He was in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

producing pictures of the first jets when he was stricken with stomach cancer. His stomach was removed at Mount Sinai hospital in New York City. He then returned to Mississippi and the family home. He recuperated for a year before he attempted to work again. House died in 1947 at the age of 38 from complications relating to his stomach cancer. He and his wife never had children, most likely secondary to his polio.

Posthumous accomplishments

During the presidency of Jimmy Carter, several of House's works hung in the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

as part of the President's desire to promote southern artists.Carter Presidential Library.
/ref> Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi has several art scholarships in his memory and has many of House's works on display.Delta State University art gallery.
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:House, Rowan Nathaniel 1908 births 1947 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters Deaths from stomach cancer Southern art Deaths from cancer in Mississippi 20th-century American male artists