William Roe Howell (April 9, 1846 - December 30, 1890) was a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
photographer of the 1870s, known mostly for portraits of political and theatrical celebrities.
Was awarded a special grand prize at the World's Fair held in
Vienna, Austria
en, Viennese
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(
Weltausstellung 1873 Wien
The 1873 Vienna World's Fair (german: Weltausstellung 1873 Wien) was the large world exposition that was held in 1873 in the Austria-Hungary, Austria-Hungarian capital Vienna. Its motto was "Culture and Education" ().
History
As well as being a c ...
). A collection of these photos, under the title of Howell's Album of Studies, sold in the U.S. for $8.00.
Howell closed his New York studio around 1880 and went into retirement. In 1886, he was living in
Washington, D.C.
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attempting to open a new studio. In 1887, two weeks before its formal opening, he disappeared, and left his wife and five children penniless. His wife admitted he was an eccentric man and was bothered by his business partner for spending too much money. Howell eventually returned to his family, but the studio was not a success.
Howell moved back to New York around 1889 and died in 1890 of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
at the home of fellow photographer, Lawrence Perkinson. He was buried at Slate Hill Cemetery,
Goshen, New York
Goshen is a town in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 13,687 at the 2010 census. The town is named after the Biblical Land of Goshen. It contains a village also called Goshen, which is the county seat of Orange County ...
.
Howell died when he was 44 and never gained the name recognition that other contemporary photographers have attained such as
Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady ( – January 15, 1896) was one of the earliest photographers in American history. Best known for his scenes of the American Civil War, Civil War, he studied under inventor Samuel Morse, who pioneered the daguerreotype technique ...
or
Napoleon Sarony
Napoleon Sarony (March 9, 1821 – November 9, 1896) was an American lithographer and photographer. He was a highly popular portrait photographer, best known for his portraits of the stars of late-19th-century American theater. His son, Otto Sar ...
. Many of his celebrity photographs are regularly sold on
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, William Roe
1846 births
1890 deaths
American portrait photographers
Photographers from New York City