Object Details
Artist
Walter Beck, 1864 - 1954
Sitter
John Burroughs, 3 Apr 1837 - 29 Mar 1921
Exhibition Label
In his prolific writings for general-interest readers, the celebrated naturalist John Burroughs promoted a reverence for nature and sustainable land steward ship. He warned in 1908, “One cannot but reflect what a sucked orange the earth will be in the course of a few more centuries. Our civilization is terribly expensive to all its natural resources… and soon how nearly bankrupt the planet will be!”
Burroughs developed a deep love and knowledge of nature while growing up in New York’s Catskill Mountains. Influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson’s transcendentalism and pious respect for nature, Burroughs began publishing his nature writing in the early 1860s. Wake-Robin (1871) was the first of many popular volumes by Burroughs, who helped make nature writing a favorite literary genre of the period.
The artist Walter Beck created this portrait of the writer at Woodchuck Lodge, the Burroughses’ summer home in the Catskill Mountains.
En sus prolíficos escritos de interés general, el celebrado naturalista John Burroughs promovió la reverencia hacia la naturaleza y la custodia sostenible de las tierras. En 1908 advirtió: “No podemos sino pensar que la tierra será una naranja exprimida en unos pocos siglos. Nuestra civilización es terrible mente costosa para sus recursos naturales. [...] ¡y pronto el planeta se abocará a su bancarrota!”.
Burroughs cultivó un profundo amor y cono cimiento de la naturaleza desde su infancia en las montañas Catskill de Nueva York. Influido por el trascendentalismo de Ralph Waldo Emerson y su devoción hacia el mundo natural, Burroughs empezó a publicar sus escritos de la naturaleza hacia 1860.
Wake-Robin (1871) fue el primero de los muchos libros populares de Burroughs, quien junto a otros convirtió la literatura de la naturaleza en uno de los géneros literarios favoritos de la época. Walter Beck creó este retrato de Burroughs en Woodchuck Lodge, su hogar de veraneo en las Catskill.
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; transfer from the Smithsonian American Art Museum; gift of Elizabeth A. Achelis, 1923
Date
1912
Object number
NPG.76.24
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Drawing
Medium
Pastel on paperboard
Dimensions
Image/Sight: 79 × 106 cm (31 1/8 × 41 3/4")
Frame: 92.7 × 119.4 × 6.4 cm (36 1/2 × 47 × 2 1/2")
Place
United States\New York\Delaware\Roxbury
See more items in
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location
Currently not on view
Data Source
National Portrait Gallery
Topic
Exterior
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Mustache
Personal Attribute\Facial Hair\Beard
John Burroughs: Male
John Burroughs: Arts and Culture\Literature\Writer
John Burroughs: Business and Finance\Natural resources commerce\Agriculturist\Farmer
John Burroughs: Arts and Culture\Education and Scholarship\Educator\Teacher
John Burroughs: Science and Technology\Scientist\Naturalist
Portrait
Link to Original Record
Record ID
npg_NPG.76.24