(ART.) Fowler, Manet Harrison. Pair of original paintings by the noted pianist, opera singer and educator. Various sizes and conditions. Np, circa late 1940s and 1955
Manet Harrison Fowler (1895-1976) was a Texas native and 1913 graduate of the Tuskegee Institute who later studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and toured the country as a soprano opera singer. She brought the Mwalimu Center for African Culture to Harlem in 1932, and became an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. The first of these two paintings depicts the youngest of Fowler's 5 children, Rosemarie Fowler (born 1927) as a young woman circa late 1940s. It is initialed "MF" in the image, and bears a faint partial pencil inscription on verso reading "Rose. . . painted by her mother Manet Harrison Fowler." Oil on board, 16 x 11 3/4 inches; several small areas of paint loss, paper backing on verso brittle and worn. The second painting is a still life titled on verso "My Doll's Parlor Recital." It is signed MHF in the image, and the lengthy signed pencil caption on verso explains that it was done for her granddaughter, apparently with her assistance. Oil on board, 13 3/4 x 18 inches; moderate dampstaining and soiling.
