Edward Payson Washburn (1831 – March 26, 1860) also known as Edward Payson Washbourne,[1] was an American painter. He was the son of Christian missionary Cephas Washburn.[2] He is best known for his painting, The Arkansas Traveller (1856).[2] During the Antebellum-era, he was one of the most notable painters in the state of Arkansas.[3]
Biography
Edward Payson Washburn painted the image of the "Arkansas Traveler" in 1856, from a story he heard from ColonelSandford C. Faulkner.[3][4][5] Supposedly occurring on the campaign trail in Arkansas in 1840, Colonel Faulkner's humorous story ends with a fiddle playing squatter being won over by the traveler (man on horse in image).
The painting was later a basis of engravings by Leopold Grozelier of Boston in 1859, and Currier and Ives of New York City about 1870, with a sample from the Arkansas Traveler tune. In addition to the painting and prints, the story of the Arkansas Traveler was also turned into a tune, dialogue and play.
It was created south of present-day Russellville, Arkansas at the Washburn family homestead site near Norristown. Washburn cemetery, near the old homestead, still exists today. The painting was widely distributed as a Currier & Iveslithograph. It was inspired by the composition of the same name by Colonel Sanford C. Faulkner (1806–1874).[4]
