Edward Washburn


Edward Payson Washburn was an American painter, son of Indian missionary Cephas Washburn. He is best known for his 1856 work, The Arkansas Traveler. He died in Little Rock, Arkansas, only nine days after his father, and is buried in historic Mount Holly Cemetery at Little Rock.

''The Arkansas Traveler''

The Arkansas Traveler depicts an encounter between a wealthy traveler and a family of squatters. The painting was created just south of the town of Russellville, Arkansas at the Washburn family homestead site. The Washburn cemetery, near the homestead site, still exists today. The painting was widely distributed as a Currier & Ives lithograph. It was inspired by the humorous song of the same name by Colonel Sanford C. "Sandy" Faulkner.