John Douglas Woodward

[4] He produced hundreds of scenes of the United States, Northern Europe, the Holy Land, and Egypt, many of which were reproduced in popular magazines of the day.

[3] From 1872 to 1873, he travelled extensively as one of the primary illustrators for D. Appleton & Company's series Picturesque America,[9][10] whose many engravings were based on sketches or watercolor paintings done on site.

[23] During this period, Woodward also met and befriended Harry Fenn, another important illustrator on the project, despite the two working in different areas of the country.

[26] The sketches that formed the basis of Picturesque Palestine were compiled during Woodward and Fenn's two joint tours of Egypt and the Levant in the winters of 1877–78 and 1878–79.

The pair received special permission to sketch inside and under the Mosque of Omar (the Dome of the Rock), although Woodward compared the streets of Jerusalem with the "dirtiest alleys of Baltimore".

Oppressed by the heat, glare, and barrenness, the best he could say about the shore of the Dead Sea was "I suppose it is not so bad it couldn't be worse".

[3] The works were hugely successful, with Woodward and Fenn earning $10 000 a year each in royalties on the Holy Land volumes.

[2] From 1882, he provided illustration for The Century Magazine and several books of poetry and, financially secure, was now able to devote more time to painting landscapes in oils and watercolors.

[2] His correspondence is maintained as the collection "An Artist Abroad in the Seventies" at the State Library's Archives Division in Richmond, Virginia.