Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Catalog Data

Artist:
Edward Bowers, 1822 - 1870  Search this
Sitter:
Samuel Washington Woodhouse, 27 Jun 1821 - 23 Oct 1904  Search this
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
61cm x 51cm (24" x 20 1/16"), Accurate
Type:
Painting
Date:
1857
Exhibition Label:
Born Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The naturalist and explorer Samuel Woodhouse made the first survey of birds in the Oklahoma Territory and was the first naturalist to survey the Arizona region. He discovered several hitherto unknown specimens, including a toad (Bufo woodhousii) and a bird (Aphelocoma woodhouseii) that are named after him. Woodhouse had originally trained as a physician at the University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently served as the medical officer in a succession of organizations, including the U.S. Army, a transatlantic steamship line, and the Eastern State Penitentiary. As an army officer, he went on exploratory missions to the American West and Central America.
The journals Woodhouse kept while in the field provide invaluable firsthand observations of the natural and human ecologies he encountered in his travels. Many of the journals are housed in the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, where the teenage Woodhouse first pursued his fascination with the natural world.
Nacido en Filadelfia, Pensilvania
El naturalista y explorador Samuel Woodhouse hizo el primer estudio de campo de las aves en el Territorio de Oklahoma y fue el primer naturalista que exploró la región de Arizona. Descubrió varias especies desconocidas hasta entonces, incluidos un sapo (Bufo woodhousii) y un pájaro (Aphelocoma woodhouseii) que llevan su nombre. Woodhouse estudió medicina en la Universidad de Pensilvania. Luego fue oficial médico en diversas organizaciones, entre ellas el Ejército de EE.UU., una línea de trasatlánticos y la Penitenciaría Estatal del Este. Como oficial del ejército, participó en misiones de exploración en el oeste del país y América Central.
Los diarios de Woodhouse contienen valiosas observaciones directas de las ecologías naturales y humanas que conoció en sus viajes. Muchos de dichos escritos se conservan en la Academia de Ciencias Naturales de Filadelfia, donde aún adolescente Woodhouse comenzó a cultivar su fascinación por el mundo natural.
Provenance:
(David David, Inc., Philadelphia); purchased 1972 NPG.
Topic:
Weapon\Gun\Rifle  Search this
Exterior\Landscape  Search this
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache  Search this
Costume\Headgear\Hat\Cowboy hat  Search this
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard  Search this
Weapon\Knife  Search this
Samuel Washington Woodhouse: Male  Search this
Samuel Washington Woodhouse: Medicine and Health\Physician  Search this
Samuel Washington Woodhouse: Science and Technology\Scientist\Biologist\Zoologist\Ornithologist  Search this
Samuel Washington Woodhouse: Science and Technology\Scientist\Naturalist  Search this
Samuel Washington Woodhouse: Natural Resource Occupations\Explorer\American West  Search this
Samuel Washington Woodhouse: Military and Intelligence\Army\Army physician  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.72.28
Restrictions & Rights:
CC0
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibition:
Out of Many: Portraits from 1600 to 1900
On View:
NPG, East Gallery 120
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4588ad957-49b5-42da-9c71-8714e4fc2b76
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.72.28