Early Life, Family and Training

William Howis senior was born in 1804 in County Waterford, Ireland. He grew up in a household where the brush was a constant presence. His father, Edward Howis, was an artist who spent his time painting animals. This early environment shaped the path William would eventually follow. By 1821, he was a student at the Royal Dublin Society schools, working to refine his hand and eye.

His time at the schools brought recognition through specific achievements. He was awarded prizes in 1823 and again in 1826. These years were spent learning the mechanics of his craft before he moved into the professional circles of Dublin. In 1825, he married Dorothea Rogers, a widow. The marriage brought two sons into the family, William and James. The younger William also took up the life of an artist, continuing the family tradition.

Artistic Career and Style

His presence in the Royal Hibernian Academy began in 1828, when he exhibited his first work. For many years after, he was a regular fixture at their exhibitions, showing his pieces consistently until 1863. His hands were most often occupied with the landscape, capturing the quiet arrangements of the natural world. He also spent time making copies after the works of James Arthur O'Connor, producing pieces that were sometimes mistaken for the originals.

Beyond the open landscape, he turned his attention to the human face through portraiture. One such study of Sir James Dombrain, the Inspector General of the Coastguards of Ireland, was later translated into a lithograph by Lowes Dickinson. His approach to these subjects remained steady, focusing on the specific details of the sitter or the terrain rather than grand gestures.

Key Works and Notable Pieces

His hand often moved toward the quiet details of the landscape. In 1841, he produced Figures on a Country Road, a work rendered in graphite and wash on paper. There is a certain stillness in his approach to the terrain, much like the composition of Pool against Mountains, where he used oil on paper to capture the intersection of water and stone.

The National Gallery of Ireland holds Head of a young man, a piece that focuses on the individual rather than the wide view. His ability to observe people extended into his later, more private years. While living in the asylum, he filled sketch books with comic sketches of the people he lived alongside, capturing the faces of his fellow residents in quick, observational lines.

Later Years and Death

The later years of Howis's life were marked by a series of displacements and personal losses. In 1849, he moved to 17 Mary Street, but the stability of that home was short-lived. By the end of that same year, both his wife, Dorothea, and his son, James, had passed away. The house itself was lost to a fire in 1854, forcing him to move to his final residence at 22 Jervis Street.

In November 1873, Howis entered the Old Men's Asylum on Northbrook Road. He remained there until his death on 7 October 1882. While living in the asylum, he produced various sketch books that included comic drawings of the people around him, some of which are held in the National Gallery of Ireland. He was known to be able to speak both Irish and Hebrew. Before his passing, he left his collection of books to the Abbey Presbyterian Church at Rutland Square.