George Henry Burgess

George Henry Burgess (8 June 1831 – 22 April 1905) was an English American painter, wood engraver and lithographer. In London, he received training in lithography. With two other brothers preceding them, in 1850 Burgess traveled to California in the company of his brother Charles. Once there, the Burgess brothers set up a jewelry and watch repair business in Sonora. Unsuccessful at mining, George spent time sketching the gold fields and mining activity. In 1856, he made the first of three trips to Hawaii, where he painted the royal family and made preparations for lithographic views of Honolulu. In San Francisco, his primary source of income was painting portraits, but he often revisited the Gold Rush theme. Burgess' most well-known work is the massive San Francisco in July, 1849, now located at the Oakland Museum of California.

Life and work George Henry Burgess was born in London on 8 June 1831, One of four sons of a prominent London physician. Burgess studied "artistic lithography" at the Somerset School House School of Design, and then apprenticed at a commercial lithography firm in London. George's eldest brother, Edward, had journeyed to San Francisco in 1847, eventually setting up a trading business between California and Hawaii. Another brother, Hubert, a professional artist, In the same year, George and his brother Charles, a portrait painter and photographer, They also engaged in sketching trips around the Mother Lode area. He frequently worked on location using pencil, or pen and ink on paper, supplanted at times by watercolor. Burgess periodically returned to the Gold Rush theme in the ensuing decades.

Burgess made three trips to Hawaii. His longest stay was 1855–1856, with shorter visits in 1866 and 1871. On his first visit he advertised himself as 'Artist and Wood Engraver'. and Edward ran a coffee shop and sold his brothers’ artwork. Noteworthy among George's Honolulu output were his pendant portraits of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. The oil on paper works were based on preliminary sketches and possibly daguerreotype images. Upon his return to San Francisco, Burgess lithographed a series of Honolulu views, Burgess returned with many sketches, which he then transferred to glass and exhibited by magic lantern show.

San Francisco in July, 1849In San Francisco, Burgess opened a studio and began his career as a professional artist. For the next few decades, portrait commissions formed the bulk of his livelihood. He was especially noted for his skill in depicting ladies' gowns, which he would ask to borrow a few weeks before sittings in order to capture the decorative details. The following year he exhibited watercolor landscapes. On 18 July 1872, in London, Burgess married Emma Clint, daughter of the artist Alfred Clint.

In 1877, Burgess was commissioned to paint a full-length portrait of the mining baron James Clair Flood. While it is unknown if the painting still exists, Flood also commissioned View of San Francisco in 1850, for which Burgess received $650 and $100 for the frame. In 1882, Burgess began work on his magnum opus, the painting San Francisco in July, 1849. It measured a monumental five feet high by twelve feet long,

Burgess continued to paint until becoming an invalid in 1903. He died on 22 April 1905, in Berkeley. Oakland Museum of California (Oakland, California) Yosemite Museum (Yosemite National Park, California)

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