National Anthropological Archives

Guide to MS 7119 Henry Wood Elliott drawings, 1866-1892

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.MS7119
Creators:
Elliott, Henry Wood, 1846-1930
Dates:
1866-1892
Languages:
No linguistic content; Not applicable
.
Physical Description:
20 Drawings (visual works)
watercolor, pencil, ink
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The collection consists of twenty (20) drawings by Henry Wood Elliott. There are fifteen large black-and-white watercolor and pencil views of fishing and hunting in Alaska, two small watercolors made in British Columbia, and three ink sketches made while Elliott was serving with the Hayden Survey in Wyoming in 1870.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or National Anthropological Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.

Biographical Note

Biographical Note
Henry Wood Elliott (1846-1930) was a conservationist, naturalist, artist and scientist. From 1862-1878 he worked for the Smithsonian Institution, studying and sketching natural history. In 1864 he traveled to British Columbia in his first field expedition. From 1869-1871 Elliott worked on the U.S. Geological Survey. Between 1872 and 1890 Elliott made three trips to Alaska to investigate seal conditions on the Pribilof Islands, Bering Sea. His sketches of St. Paul's Island provided persuasive evidence of the need to stop the seal slaughter. He authored the first international wildlife conservation treaty, the Hay-Elliott Fur Seal Treaty of 1911. When not in the field Elliott lived in Cleveland, tending to local business matters and his vineyards.

Administration

Custodial History
Fifteen of the drawings in this collections were transferred from Department of Anthropology Processing Lab to the National Anthropological Archives on December 6, 1974. These drawings may have been loaned to the United States National Museum by the Bureau of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Department of the Interior in 1956. The provenance of the remaining five drawings in the collection is unknown.
Separated Materials
An oil painting by Elliott, Tlingit Indians Raking in Eulachon, was transferred to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (1985.66.397,304).
Processing Information
The drawings in this collection were originally cataloged under MS 7119 and MS 397353. "MS 397353" does not correspond to a USNM accession or catalog number.
In 2023, the collection was reprocessed and the drawings were incorporated into a single collection under number MS 7119. The archivist replaced the titles previously assigned to the drawings with titles provided by the artist. These include captions on the drawings themselves and captions from published versions. Untitled drawings were assigned titles in square brackets [].

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Access to the collection requires an appointment.
Preferred Citation
MS 7119 Henry Wood Elliott drawings, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Related Materials
The National Anthropological Archives hold an additional drawing by Henry Wood Elliott in MS 18229.
Drawings by Henry Wood Elliott are held by the Smithsonian Institution Archives; Archives of American Art; Cleveland Museum of Natural History; University of Alaska Museum; Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks; and others.

More Information

Local Numbers

Local Numbers
NAA MS 7119


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Works of art Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Watercolors Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Eskimo/Inuit Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Unangan (Aleut) Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shoshone Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tsimshian Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Makah Cultural Context Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Alaska Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
British Columbia Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wyoming Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Arctic regions Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
North America Geographic Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Washakie, approximately 1804-1900 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Geological Survey of the Territories (U.S.) (1862-1872) (Hayden Survey) Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

National Anthropological Archives
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