Education
King"s College London.
King"s College London.
He is now remembered mainly for The Wounded Cavalier (1855). To paint his most famous work, Burton was said to have dug a hole in the ground to stand in, so that he could paint the grass and ferns at eye level Her jealous suitor, carrying a large Bible, looks on.
The painting was shown at the Royal Academy show of 1856, through a strange set of circumstances.
Burton"s picture was reportedly left in a remote room with its face turned to the wall (by porters who, Burton believed, had not been sufficiently bribed). Academician A. South. Cope found the picture, brought it to the hanging committee"s attention, and even withdrew one of his own works from the show to make room for Burton"s, which was hung next to William Holman Hunt"s The Scapegoat.
The Wounded Cavalier was the artist"s single flirtation with the Pre-Raphaelite movement of the 1850s. In later years Burton mainly devoted himself to painting religious subjects.
An only child, the younger Burton worked at copying prints as a teenager.
The dramatist and critic Tom Taylor was his sponsor and patron. Taylor helped the teen find work at the magazine Punch, a job designing capitals for illustrations (which provided much-needed income). West. South. Burton was educated at King"s College and the Royal Academy School.
Though plagued by poor health and personal difficulties, Burton remained active as a painter into his eighties.