Northern Pacific Railroad Survey drawings
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: USNM Accession Number 13050

USNM Catalog Number 130305
name: label: Creator
content: United States Pacific Railroad Expeditions and Surveys
label: Artist
content: Duncan, Johnson Kelly, 1827-1862
label: Artist
content: Stanley, John Mix, 1814-1872
label: Artist
content: Sohon, Gustav, 1825-1903
place: label: Place
content: North America
creator: label: Creator
content: United States Pacific Railroad Expeditions and Surveys
label: Artist
content: Duncan, Johnson Kelly, 1827-1862
label: Artist
content: Stanley, John Mix, 1814-1872
label: Artist
content: Sohon, Gustav, 1825-1903
culture: label: Culture
content: Chinook
label: Culture
content: Iroquois
label: Culture
content: Kalispel (Pend d'Oreilles)
label: Culture
content: Niitsitapii (Blackfoot/Blackfeet)
label: Culture
content: Pikuni Blackfeet (Piegan)
label: Culture
content: Salish (Flathead)
label: Culture
content: Spokan
label: Culture
content: Yakama (Yakima)
setName: label: See more items in
content: Northern Pacific Railroad Survey drawings
bioghist: label: Historical Note
content: The Pacific Railroad Surveys (1853–1855) were a series of five explorations designed to find and document possible routes for a transcontinental railroad across North America. The expeditions included surveyors, scientists, and artists and resulted in an immense body of data on the geology, zoology, botany, paleontology of the land as well as ethnographic descriptions of Native peoples.  

The Northern Pacific survey, led by Isaac Stevens, traveled between the 47th and 49th parallel from St. Paul, Minnesota to the Puget Sound. Artists documenting the survey included chief artist John Mix Stanley (1814-1872); astronomer, topographer, and artist Johnson Kelly Duncan (1827-1862); and assistant artist Gustav (or Gustavus) Sohon (1825-1903).
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 42 Drawings (visual works)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1853-1854
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: The drawings were donated to the Smithsonian Institution by Willard Jewell in 1883.  They were transferred from the object collections of the Department of Anthropology to the Smithsonian Office of Anthropology Archives, now the National Anthropological Archives, in 1967.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: National Anthropological Archives
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NAA.MS130305
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Drawings (visual works)
label: Type
content: Works of art
label: Type
content: Drawings
label: Type
content: Watercolors
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is arranged into three series by artist: (1) Johnson Kelly Duncan, 1853-1854; (2) Gustav Sohon, 1853-1854; and (3) John Mix Stanley, 1853.
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: The collection was reprocessed in 2022. The drawings, which had previously been described independently of each other, were organized into a single collection.  The archivist replaced the titles previously assigned to the drawings with the titles provided by the artists.  The drawings were arranged by artist in chronological order.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Works of art
label: Genre/Form
content: Drawings
label: Genre/Form
content: Watercolors
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The collection consists of forty-two (42) drawings created for the Northern Pacific Railroad Survey by Johnson Kelly Duncan, Gustav(us) Sohon, and John Mix Stanley.  The majority of the drawings are portraits. 

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.
relatedmaterial: label: Related Materials
content: The National Anthropological Archives holds additional drawings created by Sohon in MS 385668.