Two illustrations for "The Economy of Human Life"
Medium
Engraving on chine collé; proof
Dimensions
Plate (two images): 7 × 8 9/16 in. (17.8 × 21.7 cm) Sheet: 8 5/8 × 11 7/8 in. (21.9 × 30.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1966
Accession Number
66.542.37(1)
Tags
About this artwork
Frank Howard (1805-1866), a British artist working between London and Liverpool, created these delicate engravings for the 1834 edition of Robert Dodsley's moral treatise "The Economy of Human Life," published by John van Voorst in London. The work represents a collaboration between Howard (designer), Dodsley (author), and van Voorst (publisher), exemplifying the sophisticated illustrated book production of early Victorian England. Dodsley's text, originally published in 1750 and falsely attribu...
Art Historical Context
These delicate proof engravings, designed by British artist Frank Howard in 1834, illustrate Dodsley's enduring moral treatise *The Economy Human Life*. First published in 1750 playfully attributed to an ancient Indian Brahmin manuscript, the book was a beloved conduct guide dispensing wisdom through pithy aphorisms on virtue, family, and society. Howard's twelve vignettes for John van Voorst's London brought these lessons to life with sentimental scenes of rural and domestic harmony—featuring women, men, and horses in poised, narrative compositions that captured the Romantic era's fondness fo...
About the Artist
Frank Howard|Robert Dodsley|John van Voorst (British|British) · 1703 |1805 –1764 |1866
British, 1703–1764|British, London 1805–1866 Liverpool