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Howard Allen: A Photographer and So Much More
Howard Allen: A Photographer and So Much More
By Denis Cotter
It’s been nearly ten years since the late Howard Owen Allen (1920 – 2015) passed away, but he left behind a treasure trove of photographs documenting a way of life in Middleburg and its surrounding area, some of them going as far back as his teenage years.
The son of a well-known Winchester physician who once half-jokingly told him he had delivered half the babies in their home town, the road Howard took in becoming a renowned local photographer who also chronicled the equine pursuits of Jackie Kennedy and her children took countless intriguing twists and turns.
Not long after Howard married Nancy, his wife of 67 years, in 1948, the young couple moved to Washington, D.C. where he took a job as a layout artist in the promotions department of The Washington Post. He was there for three years, but grew restless with the 9 to 5 desk-bound routine. Thanks to the Post’s chief photographer, he secured a position with John DiJoseph, owner of Reni Photographers, a commercial photography operation. His new address at 1319 F Street, NW, was less than a mile away from the Post’s long-time headquarters on 15th Street.
DiJoseph was famous for his 1945 photo of a leggy Lauren Bacall draped across an upright piano being played by Vice President Harry S. Truman. DiJoseph gave Howard all his early training in professional photography.
In 1955, DiJoseph received a call from The Post asking if he could send a photographer to accompany a reporter doing a story in Middleburg on Margaret Greer, a well-known interior decorator. The Post couldn’t afford to lose a photographer for an entire day, so Howard got the assignment.
At the end of the session, Mrs. Greer’s secretary asked him if he knew any photographers who might be job hunting. The local photographer, Thomas Neil Darling, had recently died and his widow was looking for someone to continue the business. Howard said he didn’t know anyone, but decided to visit the widow.
The next day, Mrs. Darling came to Arlington to have dinner with Howard and Nancy and by evening’s end, Howard had agreed to move to Middleburg. Eventually, he bought the business, renamed it Allen Studios, and it endured for decades. Meanwhile, Nancy opened The Fun Shop, which grew to become an iconic Middleburg destination loved by locals and visitors alike until it closed last year.
Howard’s father, Lewis Mines Allen, had a brief moment of international fame in 1938 when King Edward VIII of England abdicated his throne. It turned out that Dr. Allen had delivered Wallis Warfield – later Wallis Simpson – decades earlier in Maryland.
Howard was the oldest of three boys, with brothers Lewis born in 1922 and Douglas in 1923. By the time they were in their late teens, Walt Disney had created Donald Duck’s nephews. Not surprisingly, the Allen boys were sometimes called Huey, Louie, and Dewey.
As he described in an oral history at the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, Howard had an idyllic childhood on Clifford Street. An avid amateur photographer, he had a darkroom in the basement of his parents’ house. He attended Handley School through the 8th grade, then Episcopal in Alexandria, graduating in 1938.
Howard enrolled at Princeton University, intending to major in architecture. He was halfway through his junior year when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Howard signed up with the American Field Services (AFS), an organization based in New York founded during World War I.
AFS ran ambulance services, transporting wounded soldiers from the battlefield to field hospitals in the rear. Being actively involved in the war effort, but saving lives rather than destroying them, fit with his brave and gentle character.
Howard served with AFS from December, 1942 through December, 1944. He drove ambulances in Syria, North Africa, and Italy, aligned with the 8th Army of the British military and with the Forces Françaises Combattantes (FFC).
After AFS, Howard joined the U.S. Navy for three years before returning to the U.S. In 1947, on his way to a training course, he was injured in a railroad accident and was honorably discharged. He moved to New York City to study for a year at the Arts Students League on the GI Bill.
On May 8, 1948, at Christ Episcopal Church in Winchester, Howard wed Nancy Lee Coble, a childhood friend. They were married for 67 years and had two daughters, Page and Betsy. During the presidency of John F. Kennedy, Middleburg became “a most congenial spot” for Mrs. Kennedy, who rode to hounds here and became a pony club mother.
Howard’s daughters also were in pony club, setting the stage for an enduring friendship between Howard and the first lady. He valued her concern for her children’s privacy and became the trusted, unofficial family photographer. He made classic pictures of Jackie and her children, Caroline and John, many not published until 50 years after JFK’s assassination in Howard’s 2013 splendid coffee table book “Unforgotten Times.”
One of his memorable photos also graces the cover of The Middleburg Mystique by author Vicky Moon, which has sold more than 27,000 copies.
Betsy went on to become the mayor of Middleburg, and she and Page managed the highly successful Fun Shop. Howard prospered for decades as a commercial photographer and also covered sporting events throughout the area, especially equine ones.
He always retained an interest in art and drawing and was a gifted caricaturist. Every year, he got together for golf with his brothers. Lewis had a successful career as a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer who brought shows like Tru, A Few Good Men, and Annie to commercial life. Douglas was a successful stockbroker in Pennsylvania and Delaware.
Nancy Allen died in July, 2015. Four months later, Howard passed away. They are not forgotten.
