Arthur Burgess

A well known naval artist and former art editor of “Brassey’s Naval and Shipping Annual” in the 1920s, Arthur Burgess was born and educated in New South Wales before moving to England in 1901 when he studied at St Ives, Cornwall, under the watchful eyes of Julius Olsson and Algernon Talmage. Specializing in maritime subjects, both in peacetime and in wartime, he became known for his paintings of merchant ships and battleships. He spent time studying his subject matter at the Royal Dockyards and over the years he captured some famous ships on canvas including the Ark Royal, Royal Yacht Britannia, Mauritania and a Sunderland Flying Boat, amongst others. His love of boats saw him paint yachts, warships, working ships and even barges. One of his most highly acclaimed works was the watercolor Crossing the Bar which depicts a steam ship making passage between reefs.

A member of the Royal Instution (RI) and Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI) Burgess exhibited at the Royal Academy many times and his work also went on show in Paris and in his native Australia. He was also commissioned to provide artwork for various newspapers and magazines and was at one time the official naval artist of the Australian Commonwealth and in 1913 was commissioned by the Art Gallery of New South Wales to paint the Australian Fleet as it entered Sydney Harbour.

Interestingly, none of his three entries for the 1928 and 1932 art competitions shows a maritime motif. The only identified painting is entitled Pontresina Ski Area and is 20 x 27 cm in size (oil on panel).