Howard Russell Butler

Howard Russell Butler is best known for his paintings of landscapes, seascapes, and the eclipse of the sun. Originally from the East Coast, his work took him to various corners of the United States. Many of his landscapes of the American West came about because of a commission from the Union Pacific Railroad to paint a series of landscapes of the Colorado Plateau. He also painted striking desert landscapes and costal scenes in Southern California.

Howard Russell Butler was born on March 3, 1856 in New York City. Howard had some formal art training as a child but chose to study science when he went to college. Later, he received a second degree in law which he briefly practiced before deciding to focus entirely on painting. He proceeded to begin his studies in art with Frederic Edwin Church, before moving on to study at the Art Students League in New York and for two years in France.

Upon completing his studies, Howard returned to New York where he acquired the funds to finance the construction of the Fine Arts building (now the headquarters of the Art Students League). While collecting the money to finance his ventures, Howard met industrialist Andrew Carnegie and later painted his portrait. Additionally, this project led to the creation of the American Fine Arts Society of which Howard was the president for nearly 20 years. During that time Howard made several trips to Southern California where he painted scenes of life in the costal towns of Santa Barbara, San Diego, and others.

Howard’s most well-known work is his painting of the 1918 Solar Eclipse. As the actual event of the eclipse would be much shorter than the typical time it took to complete a painting, Howard took notes as the eclipse progressed that he later used to complete the work. The piece now resides at Princeton University, Howard’s alma mater. In the years following his completion of Solar Eclipse, Howard finished other works and continued to enjoy painting until his death in 1934.