[4][1] While he originally planned on studying natural science and entomology, writing essays with his own illustrations of spiders, bees, and caterpillars, he discovered a love for drawing at Gallaudet.

[7][5] After graduating from MIT, Washburn moved to New York City, where he shared an apartment with illustrator Howard Chandler Christy.

[13] His paintings, a part of the realist movement, are marked by a fluid, brushy technique and special attention given to light and atmosphere.

[8] The Washburn brothers discovered the location of the Japanese fleet under Admiral Togo on the Mekong River in Indochina and reported it as a scoop;[8] an international incident resulted from the story as Japan argued France was violating its neutrality.

[4] When the violence escalated in 1911, he booked passage home on the SS Merida, but the boat sank after a collision and Washburn's copperplates and canvases were lost at sea.

[5] In 1925 Washburn traveled to the Marquesas Islands with a scientific expedition, sketching rare birds and collecting eggs.

[4] Washburn continued his artwork throughout his life, though by 1937 his eyesight had deteriorated and he switched mediums from etching to oil painting.

[5] Washburn returned to studying insects, arguing for the intelligence and communication skills of spiders, bees, and caterpillars.