John Newman Howitt (1885-1958) was born in White Plains, New York on May 7, 1885. Howitt used drawing as a coping tool while he struggled with polio at just four years old. In 1902, Howitt went on to study at the Arts Students League in New York. He began selling his work freelance in 1905, and in 1908 he opened his own art gallery in New York City, which he would continue to own for most of his life.

Howitt did a lot of art for “slick” magazines like Country Gentleman and The Saturday Evening Post, as well as advertisement art. After the stock market crash, he supplemented his income with work for pulp magazines such as Top Notch and The Whisperer. In 1939, Howitt went back to the slick magazines. He was creating art, both commercial and fine, until he died at age 72.

Howitt created six covers for The Saturday Evening Post.