Claude Howell (American, 1915-1997), Beneath the Pier

Oil on canvas, 1984, signed and dated "Howell 84" at lower right, inscribed in the artist's hand to verso "#3810 / Beneath the Pier, 1984 / By Claude Howell," framed.

Stretcher size 50 1/4 x 40 in.; Frame dimensions 51 1/2 x 41 1/4 in.

Among the most famous and highly collected artists from North Carolina, Claude Howell is often referred to as “The Dean of North Carolina Painters.” He was born in Wilmington, North Carolina and received his early artistic training from an eccentric British transplant, Elisabeth Chant. He went on to seek further training during his travels throughout the Northeastern United States and Paris, but North Carolina always lured him home to paint what he knew and loved best – life along the North Carolina coast.

Howell’s paintings, drawings, and prints are present in major North Carolina collections and nationally recognized collections, including the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; the Mint Museum, Charlotte; the Corcoran Museum of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Howell was the first North Carolina artist to show work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1940.

Stable craquelure to sky; drips of yellowing varnish to surface; faint bulge near center of canvas.