Illustrator and landscape painter John Newton Howitt was born in White Plains, New York. Howitt became interested in art when, at the age of four, he fell ill with polio, and Howitt’s father drew pictures to comfort him during his convalescence. Graduating from high school at age sixteen, Howitt went on to study at the Art Students League in New York with George Bridgman and Walter Clark. In 1905, Howitt began selling freelance illustrations, and in 1908 he opened his own studio and art gallery in New York.
For many years, Howitt enjoyed a successful career illustrating for newspapers and magazines, with his work appearing in publications such as Red Book, Woman’s Home Companion, MacLean’s, The Saturday Evening Post, and Scribner’s. He also created advertisements for brands including Cream of Wheat, Crisco Shortening, Devoe Paints, Jello Foods, and Post Bran Flakes. In addition to his more commercial work, Howitt was also a devoted landscape painter, and an active member of the Hudson Valley Art Association.
During the Great Depression, Howitt was forced to supplement his income by painting for pulp magazines, an activity he disliked immensely. Embarrassed, Howitt signed his most outrageous and shocking pulp work with a red “H” rather than his full signature, which he continued to use on more prestigious work. When the economy recovered around 1940, Howitt returned to working for major magazines like Collier’s and The Saturday Evening Post and stopped working for the pulps. John Newton Howitt died at his home in Port Jervis, New York, in 1958.
