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 1850 set out for California from New York on news of the California Gold Rush. In the same year, George and his brother Charles, a portrait painter and photographer, traveled over the Great Plains in search of their fortune. After initial gold prospecting attempts, Hubert, Charles, and George Burgess opened a jewelry shop in Sonora. Operating out of a tent, they repaired watches and made gold chains for the miners. Due to local disturbances, the brothers disbanded their operations. Hubert and George continued to hunt together, supplying meat for restaurants and boardinghouses. They also engaged in sketching trips around the Mother Lode area. George's pictures are noteworthy for their attention to factual detail and reduced emphasis of romantic characteristics. He frequently worked on location using pencil, or pen and ink on paper, supplanted at times by watercolor. His production included minaitures, genre scenes and landscapes. Burgess periodically returned to the Gold Rush theme in the ensuing decades. In 1854, he lithographed a view of San Francisco city and harbor, based on a daguerrotype by the photographer George Howard Johnson. 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'. George's brothers lived in Honolulu for various periods of time. Hubert ran a jewelry business, receiving royal commissions; Charles worked as a paperhanger; 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 daguerrotype images. Upon his return to San Francisco, Burgess lithographed a series of Honolulu views, printed by the firm