Florence Howell Barkley
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1880
Florence Howell Barkley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mary Florence Barkley 1880 |
| Died | 1954 (aged 73–74) |
| Education | Art Academy of Cincinnati |
| Known for | Painting, watercolor, Illustration |
| Notable work | Jerome Avenue Bridge, oil painting |
| Movement | Modernist |
Florence Howell Barkley (1880–1954) was an American landscape painter and illustrator best known for depictions of seascapes in oil and watercolor and illustrations in many popular newspapers in pen and ink. During this time, she was one of few women who was able to receive formal training in the arts. Although her most well-known work was created in 1912 and exhibited in 1913, her career was disrupted by World War I, and thereafter consisted mostly of freelance illustration work.
Florence Howell Barkley was born Mary Florence Barkley in Maysville, Kentucky, on February 17, 1880, to Henry Clay Barkley, an Irish immigrant and hardware worker, and Isabella Imogene Howell.[1] She and her seven siblings grew up in Maysville and all attended school. After the death of her parents in 1897, Barkley lived with her sister Helen, her brother Frank, her brother Harry, and his wife Lillie. Her brothers opened up a small shoe store, H.C. Barkley & Company, while she and her sister kept house.[2] During this time, Barkley and her sister Helen began to create paintings of landscapes and floral arrangements in watercolor and pastel that they would submit to contests in the Mason County Fair.[3] Barkley lived in Maysville with siblings until she was 20 years old.
Education
In 1900, at the age of 20, Barkley moved to Cincinnati to study art. She was educated at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, where she studied landscape painting.[4]
Barkley then attended the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, she was one of many women to be trained by Robert Henri. Henri aided in the development of female modernism as his students applied his modernist ideals across different media. Barkley flourished under his instruction, then creating some of her most famous works. She was friendly with several other notable female artists at the school, including Josephine Hopper and Henrietta Shore.[4]
