Elias Howe

Half-length oil portrait of Elias Howe (1819-1867) by or after Charles Loring Elliott. Howe is shown turned to the left, wearing a dark jacket over a white shirt and cravat, with long brown hair. The background a rough grey.

Son of an English immigrant farmer, Elias Howe Jr. pioneered the lock stitch sewing machine, successfully defending an early patent and establishing production of the machines in America.

This portrait formed part of the Bennet Woodcroft Bequest, which was among the founding collections of the Science Museum. Woodcroft had developed a 'National Gallery of Portraits of Inventors, Discoverers and Introducers of the Useful Arts’ combining gifts, loans and purchases of portraits, while acting as the first curator of the Patent Museum.

Another version of this portrait is in the collections of the National Museum of American History in Washington DC as after Charles Loring Elliott. As Bennett Woodcroft often had copies made for his 'National Gallery' further comparison is now required to confirm which of the two portraits is the original.