Henry Wood Elliott

Henry Wood Elliott, as a member of the 1871 Hayden U.S. Geological Survey expedition to Yellowstone.

Henry Wood Elliott (November 13, 1846 – May 25, 1930) was an American watercolor painter, author, and environmentalist whose work primarily focused on Alaskan subjects. A number of his works have an ethnographic bent, displaying aboriginal Alaskans engaging in traditional practices; some of these works are stored in the National Anthropological Archives at the Smithsonian. Elliott also focused on the Alaskan landscape and wildlife.^[1]

In 1886, Elliott published a book entitled Our Arctic Province: Alaska and the Seal Islands, which contains an in-depth exploration of Alaska's history, geography, people, and wildlife.^[2]

He became involved in early conservation efforts of the fur seal, in 1905 co-authoring a document with United States Secretary of State John Hay that would eventually become the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911, the first international treaty dedicated to the conservation of wildlife.^[3]

Gallery

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  Pacific walrus, July 5, 1872

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  Hunting a Beluga whale

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  Map of St. Paul Island drawn by Elliott in 1890

References

1. "Henry Wood Elliott: An American Artist in Alaska". National Museum of Natural History.
2. Our Arctic Province: Alaska and the Seal Islands. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1886.
3. "North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty of 1911". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.