Two illustrations for "The Economy of Human Life"

Frank Howard

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Printed from one plate, these two images come from a set of twelve. They were made for an illustrated book published in London by John van Voorst in 1834. Each centers on a vignette illustration, with the book's title above, quotes and publication details below. The prints are numbered below the images, p. 37 and p. 166. p. 37 shows a couple seated next to a tree holding hands. Text below: "Oh! cherish her as a blessing sent thee from Heaven. Let the kindness of thy behaviour endear thee to her heart." p. 166 shows a wounded knight seated on the ground, supported by a companion who covers his face in grief. Text below: "He hath not spent his life ill who knoweth to die well; neither can he have lost all his time, who employeth the last portion of it in honour." Related drawings by Howard are in the Museum's collection (66.542.37(5) and 66.542.37(6)).

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.

Metropolitan Museum of Art