Edward Washburn

Edward Payson Washburn (1831 – March 26, 1860) also known as Edward Payson Washbourne, was an American painter. He was the son of Christian missionary Cephas Washburn. He is best known for his painting, The Arkansas Traveller (1856). During the Antebellum-era, he was one of the most notable painters in the state of Arkansas. Biography Edward Payson Washburn painted the image of the "Arkansas Traveler" in 1856, from a story he heard from Colonel Sandford C. Faulkner. 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.