Dan Howard
Dan Howard (1931-2024)
Identified by the Omaha World-Herald as Nebraska’s most highly decorated artist, Dan Howard was the recipient of 100 prizes, awards, and honors during a 50-year career as a professional artist and art educator. Born, raised, and educated in Iowa, Howard earned both B.A. and M.F.A. degrees in art from the University of Iowa. As an educator, he served as a faculty member and administrator at three state universities: Arkansas State, Kansas State, and for 22 years at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he was department chair from 1974 to 1983.
Howard exhibited extensively throughout the United States, with artwork included in more than 350 competitive and invitational showcases. Major art galleries in at least twelve cities carried his work for several years, including a prominent SoHo gallery in New York City during the 1990s. More than 600 public, corporate, and private art collections in the U.S. and abroad hold one or more Howard works. In the competitive arena, he received top awards in the three major national painting competitions: the Chautauqua in New York, Butler in Ohio, and the Society of Four Arts in Florida.
His work entered the national collections of such corporate entities as Hallmark Cards, West Law Publishing, United Airlines, American Airlines, Qwest (Century Link), 3M, Pepsi Cola, Chicago Steel Corporation, Riceland Foods, Sheraton Hotels, Holiday Inns, Coopers & Lybrand, ConAgra, TD Ameritrade, and numerous banking and financial/insurance institutions. In Nebraska, Assurity Life Insurance, Farmers Mutual Insurance, Great Western Bank, and the Lied Center for Performing Arts prominently feature Howard’s artwork in their buildings.
Howard’s art is also represented in many public collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C.; Lowe Art Museum in Miami, FL; The Parthenon Museum in Nashville, TN; Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock, AR; Sioux City Art Museum, IA; Fort Dodge Art Museum, IA; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, NE; Museum of Nebraska Art, Kearney; Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, NE; and others.