Artist Biography

George Henry BURGESS
1831 - 1905

George Henry Burgess, a wood engraver, painter, and lithographer, was born in London, England on June 8, 1831, the son of a prominent surgeon. He studied art at the Somerset School in England before joining the Gold Rush to San Francisco in 1850 with his older brother William. The brothers soon turned from mining to operating a jewely store in Sonora. While visiting Hawaii in 1853, he painted portraits of Queen Emma and King Kamehameha. In 1871 he was a cofounder of the San Francisco Art Ass'n. An employee of Britton & Rey, his view of San Francisco in 1849 was lithographed in 1894, and in the late 1890s he held a "San Francisco in 1849" retrospective. Burgess died on April 22, 1905 in Berkeley, California. Exhibited: Mechanics' Institute (San Francisco), 1858-91; California Art Union, 1865; California State Fair, 1881, 1892, 1893. Works held: Bancroft Library (University of California at Berkeley); Oakland Museum; Amon Carter Museum; Society of California Pioneers; De Young Museum; Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Return to artwork page.