Artwork
Dance card, including view of Mt. Elias
Dance card, including view of Mt. Elias is a watercolor work on paper by the Hudson River School artist H. E. Howard. It dates from 1891 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Dance card, including view of Mt.
About this work
Overview
Dance card, including view of Mt. Elias is a watercolour drawing created by H. E. Howard in 1891. The work combines multiple quick sketches on a single page, reflecting the artist's observations during a voyage.
Subject & Meaning
The artwork juxtaposes scenes of social activity—a dance card with figures, a group walking—and natural vistas (a mountain, boats on water). Marginal notations by the artist, 'Dance' and 'Mt. Elias', highlight the blend of leisure and landscape.
Technique & Style
Characterized by loose, rapid execution, the piece features a mix of tiny sketches and watercolour scenes. Colour is sparingly used, with notable accents of red and blue.
History & Provenance
Originally one of four sketches from a voyage to Egypt aboard the RMS Orotava (1891), the work is documented in Rodney Searight’s records. It was sold at Christie’s auction house on February 11, 1969, as part of albums SD.509–SD.513.
Context
Part of a larger body of work by H. E. Howard, similar pieces can be found at the Victoria and Albert Museum, offering broader insight into the artist’s travel-inspired oeuvre.
Artist & collection
Artist
British artist H.E. Howard filled pocket sketchbooks with quick watercolours of Suez docks and stagecraft in the 1890s. Look at “Labourers carrying coal up a gangway to a ship at Port Said”, a gritty slice of Port Said…
Labourers carrying coal up a gangway to a ship at Port Said
Girgeh
System adopted by the earliest Pyramid builders for setting out their work
A Mastabah or Dikkeh
Two rowing boats full of passengers at Port Said
The Mirab & the Minbar Gami Ibn Tooloon
Comic designs for dance programmes, including mock Egyptian hieroglyphs
Sketches of boats and jewellery
![Two Figures and a Bench; Three Studies of Men's Heads and One of a Hand [recto], by Paul Gauguin](https://artifactworldgallery.com/img/paul-gauguin--two-figures-and-a-bench-three-studies-of-men-s-heads-and-one--b308c9e6d9f9cfa9-w320.webp)
