David Hunter Strother
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David Hunter Strother (1816-1888) was an artist born in Martinsburg, Virginia (now Martinsburg, West Virginia) and was known more popularly under his pseudonymn Porte Crayon. Strother studied drawing under Pietro Aneora in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1829-1836 when he became a student of Samuel F. B. Norse in New York. Strother was an artist for The Crayon, the leading art journal of the United States at the time, and a frequent contributor to Harper's Monthly. Most of his early work was comprised of landscapes and other outdoor scenes. His art pertained mostly to Virginia and the Southern United States. Prior to the American Civil War, his art was published in books titled "The Blackwater Chronicle" (1853) and "Virginia Illustrated" (1857).
During the Civil War, Strother was commissioned by the United States Army to serve as a topographer. During this time, Strother recorded his experiences in the war which he would later publish in Harper's Monthly as "Personal Recollections of the War." His accounts are considered to be unique and are highly praised for their objective viewpoints. After the war, topics of his pieces covered a wider range of subjects. Strother began to make works which commented on politics and race relations. He even sketched a portrait of Chief Sitting Bull. Some of his drawings were merely of individuals and groups going about their daily lives. The New York Times published his obitutary upon his death in which they stated his name was a household one during his career as artist.
Strother ended his career as an artist when he was appointed by President Rutherford B. Hayes to be the General Consul to Mexico.
