Howlett was born in Norwich, Norfolk, and was the daughter of a leather merchant and shoe manufacturer.
[2] Her painting "Market Scene" is held in the collection of the Bushey Museum and Art Gallery.
[3] She exhibited at the Royal Albert Hall with The London Salon of the Allied Artists' Association in 1901 and 1911.
[4] In 1916, she co-exhibited the work Noah's Ark at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, which she constructed with Margaret West.
When a branch of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was opened in Norwich in 1912,[7] she was appointed a local secretary.