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. 77 and p. 146. p. 77 shows Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden surrounded by animals. Related text: "Superiority and command were given thee over all, and of his own breath did he communicate to thee thy principle of knowledge." p. 146 shows a sad woman seated by water. Text below: "See how she droopeth her head; like the flower whose root is cut assunder, see how she fixeth her eyes upon the earth--see how they serve her to no purpose but weeping." Related watercolors by Howard are in the Museum's collection (66.542.37(17) and 66.542.37(18)).

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