Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Douglass Morse Howell was born in 1906 in New York City. Howell stumbled into papermaking while seeking better paper for his own wood engravings in the 1930s. He set up his first paper mill in a cold-water flat on Grand Street in New York City and in 1950, set up a paper studio in Long Island, New York. Howell began producing paper for his own limited edition books, but his endeavor was not particularly well-received in conservative book arts circles, where he was accused of making baby blankets, not paper. Howell’s papers, made from pure linen or home-grown flax and local spring water, were indeed of an entirely different and original texture, color and weight than anything else being produced at the time. Artists, including Joan Mirò, Stanley William Hayter, Jasper Johns, Anne Ryan and most notably, Jackson Pollock, were delighted with this beautiful and novel substrate for printing, collage, drawing and watercolor. In the words of his student and chronicler, Alexandra Soteriou, “Howell emancipated paper from its role as a printing surface alone. He focused instead on the nature, aesthetics and creative possibilities of the paper itself.” Howell himself began creating paper art or papeteries, with inclusions of fiber, fabric and subtly placed filaments within the paper itself. He made his first pulp paintings by cutting out a design with wooden stencils and re-immersing the mold in different batches of colored pulp. Howell also experimented with three-dimensional paper works on wire molds. Howell had his first one-man show in New York at the Betty Parsons Gallery in 1955 and had retrospectives at the American Craft Museum in 1982 and New York Public Library in 1986. His work is held in numerous public collections, including the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Brooklyn Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. Howell became an American Craft Council Gold Medalist in 1993 and died in 1994 in New York.
1960s Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Part of artist Patrick O'Boyle's Aerial Landscape series, the composition draws inspiration from aerial photographs he captured in his travels. Organic shapes ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Two moon-like orbs hover above an abstract landscape, symbolizing the duality of light and darkness as well as truth and illusion. Warm oranges blend with coo...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Urban shadows and jumbled street scenes inspire this painting, capturing the energy of Dearborn Street in Chicago’s Loop. With a limited color palette, dark...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
A blue sphere with a red center hovers in the middle of the scene. It symbolizes a presence that communicates without words, the voice of awakening. A meditat...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Organic shapes create a linear wall, with dark elements concentrated at the top. Shades of cool gray, white, and black blend into a neutral composition. The s...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
An overlapping heart pulses with vibrant pink, purple, and gold hues. Energetic lines and splashes enliven the piece, while polka dots and scribbled text lend...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
A female figure burst with earthy tones and vibrancy. The combination of collage papers, acrylic glazes, and oil pastels infuses the piece with a playful abst...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Muted pastel tones and textured layers create a soothing abstract composition. Book pages, a barcode, and a music sheet add nostalgia and character. This visu...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Bold shapes and mixed-media elements define this collage. Artist Jodi Dann discovered a nest in her backyard made of horse tail hair. She photographed it and ...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Artist Jodi Dann captures an exciting gift from nature. A sweet little bird made a nest out of horse tail hair in her backyard, inspiring her to create a coll...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
The artwork portrays artist Jodi Dann's sweet find in her backyard: a nest made of horse tail hair. She took a photograph and printed the manipulated image on...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
Artist Comments
Bright neon green and red patches emerge from the deep blues, violets, and blacks. Although the composition appears complex with its colors and shapes, the ti...
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Douglass Morse Howell Mixed Media
Mixed Media
