TitleLe Soir
Artist
William Henry Howe
(1844 - 1929)
Date1889
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 36 1/8 × 51 1/4 in.
SignedSigned at lower left: "William H Howe/18 Paris 89."
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, November 1, 1897
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number597-P
Label TextPainted during Howe's Parisian stay, Le Soir received enough notice at the 1889 Salon to be illustrated in Georges La Fenestre's lavish guide to the exhibition. Attempts to sell it in the United States, however, proved fruitless. In writing about the work of the Barbizon School landscapist Constant Troyon, Howe described the qualities necessary for a sheep picture to achieve "bleating truth." With Troyon, he asserted, "One feels the timidity of the fleecy flock and their utter dependence on man's protection." Howe's own grazing sheep appear well cared for by the darkened figures of the shepherd and his small, alert dog.
