Dr. William Henry Holmes

Alyn Williams, Dr. William Henry Holmes, 1928, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1931.2.11
Copied Alyn Williams, Dr. William Henry Holmes, 1928, watercolor and pencil on paper, sight 5 5⁄8 x 4 in. (14.3 x 10.2 cm) rectangle, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1931.2.11

Artwork Details

Title
Dr. William Henry Holmes
Artist
Date
1928
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sight 5 5⁄8 x 4 in. (14.3 x 10.2 cm) rectangle
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Mediums
Mediums Description
watercolor and pencil on paper
Classifications
Keywords
  • Occupation — medicine — doctor
  • Portrait male — Holmes, William Henry, Dr. — bust
Object Number
1931.2.11
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1931.2.11

Artwork Description

In 1920, William Henry Holmes became the first director of the first National Gallery of Art, now the Smithsonian American Art Museum. He was an accomplished anthropologist, archaeologist, artist, and geologist. Holmes’s many talents made him indispensable on many archaeological expeditions to New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico, and South America. When the artist presented this miniature as a gift to the Museum, Holmes conveyed his gratitude in a letter to Williams, saying, “your generous thoughtfulness thus enables me to leave in the National Gallery of Art my only portrait other than those by photograph.”