John Burgess AOWS Continental Stone Bridge

An original mid-19th-century watercolour painting, John Burgess AOWS, Continental Stone Bridge.

An attractive watercolour with scratching out, signed on the verso.

John Burgess (1813–1874) was a member of the well-known Burgess dynasty of painters who flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries. He was the son of John Cart Burgess (1788–1863) and nephew of Henry William Burgess (fl. 1809–1844) and Thomas Burgess (1784?–1807).

Around 1833 he travelled in Italy via Normandy and Paris, staying there until 1837. On his return he made sketching tours in Devon, Surrey and the Thames Valley, and in 1840 settled in Leamington, buying the teaching practice of the widow of D. Dighton. In 1851 he was elected an associate of the Old Watercolour Society. He is at his best when using a pencil, and his architectural sketches made on the spot have been favourably compared to those of Samuel Prout and Henry Edridge.