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Sir Frederic William Burton

(1816-1900), Watercolour painter and Director of the National Gallery

Later Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry

Sitter in 6 portraits
Artist associated with 11 portraits
Sir Frederic William Burton was an Irish painter and museum director. He was taught painting by the Brocas brothers in Dublin and, like them, he specialised in watercolours. He soon established himself as a portrait painter, and he had many notable sitters in Dublin. Burton was elected Royal Hibernian Academician in 1839 at the age of twenty-three. In 1851 he settled in Munich, from where he made sketching trips and visits to German art galleries. He subsequently settled in London, where he continued to devote himself to the study of art history and to portrait painting.

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Sir Frederic William Burton

by Henry Tanworth Wells
oil on canvas, 1863
NPG 1701

Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition, Royal Academy, 1888

by Henry Jamyn Brooks
oil on canvas, 1889
NPG 1833

Sir Frederic William Burton

by Cundall, Downes & Co, or by John Watkins
albumen print on card mount, published 1864 (circa 1863)
NPG Ax131854

Sir Frederic William Burton

by John Watkins, or by Cundall, Downes & Co
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG Ax14983

Sir Frederic William Burton

by Cundall, Downes & Co, or by John Watkins
albumen carte-de-visite, circa 1863
NPG Ax5077

Key to Private View of the Old Masters Exhibition, Royal Academy, 1888

after Henry Jamyn Brooks
photograph, 1919 or after
NPG D42236

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Sir Frederic William Burton

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