Charles Howard (1899-1978)

Charles Houghton Howard was one of the vanguards who introduced European surrealism and biomorphic expressionism into the American art world. Originally an aspiring writer, Howard was pushed towards art after developing a relationship with the painter Grant Wood in Paris. He would go on to spend large portions of his life abroad in England, France and Italy. While in the United States, he spent time between New York and Berkeley, California. His work was featured, alongside fellow Americans Man Ray and Joseph Cornell, in the landmark exhibition by the influential art dealer Julien Levy that introduced European surrealism to the United States. He would later lecture on Surrealism at the California School of Fine Arts with Salvador Dalí, Man Ray and the poet Georges Lemaitre.