Frances Schumann Howell

Frances Eleanore Schumann Howell (1905–1994) was a painter and teacher in the Pasadena California Community Schools. She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan on February 5, 1905 and educated at Ohio Wesleyan University, UCLA and Columbia University (M.A., Phi Beta Kappa Society). In 1930 she married artist and educator Youldon Howell [1] and began a long teaching career in the Pasadena public schools (John Muir Jr. College and Pasadena City College); while in tenure teaching at Pasadena City College, subjects included: clothing design/costume analysis, and other industrial arts and her students included names like Jackie Robinson (Baseball player) and Bob Mackie (Fashion designer). Howell is a listed artist with examples of her work in the California State Library, and many other collections. She was responsible for the costume design for the 1934 End Poverty in California movement EPIC pageant (Upton Sinclair's ill fated California gubernatorial run, and a lifelong friend of the Sinclairs,) worked closely with her husband on float design/construction for the Pasadena City School's Rose Parade floats. Her painting subjects include florals, animals, and landscapes. Exhibited: Pasadena Music Arts Club, 1931–1975, Rancho Santa Fe Library, 1984 (with her husband), and many other venues. Howell died in 1994, in Menifee, California. In 2010, her book A history of american dress: from the 15th and 16th century through 1965 was privately published posthumously. Howell had shelved the book in 1968, after years of delay by the publisher. It had been stored in a closet after her death.