John Willock Noble

John Noble's (1831–1912) experiences as a brigadier general in the Civil War and as a U.S. district attorney in Missouri earned him widespread respect. In the only public office he ever held, Noble served as secretary of the Interior for the entirety of President Harrison's term. Major issues for Noble included Civil War pensioners and the Cherokee Commission, which removed 19 tribes to small allotments and opened the Oklahoma Territory to homesteaders. Noble was perhaps best known, however, for supporting the Forest Reserve Act of 1891—key legislation that laid the groundwork for protecting timberlands and creating a national forest system. Ironically, the "General Noble" Giant Sequoia tree named for him in California's Converse Basin Grove was felled for display at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. At the end of Harrison's presidency, Noble resumed private life in St. Louis.

This painting is by Alban Jasper Conant (1821–1915), an artist, archaeologist and anthropologist. He is particularly remembered for an 1860 portrait in which Abraham Lincoln is smiling.