William Francis Burton
Encyclopedia
William Francis Burton (Bill Burton) (1 January 1907 in North Walsham
, Norfolk
– 1995 in Colchester
, Essex
) was a prolific English
marine and landscape artist, who painted in oils.
He drew inspiration for his work largely from his rural Norfolk upbringing and his adopted home county of Essex. West Mersea was a particular favourite and Burton is best remembered for his depictions of golden oyster beds and Turneresque skies, his most renowned work reproduced in 1965 is 'Evening Gold'.
Burton was self-taught but often acknowledged the guidance and inspiration of his first wife's father the Irish artist William Crampton Gore
RHA (1871–1946). Burton spent a year in Australia (1964–1965) perfecting his technique before becoming a professional and commercially successful artist in the early sixties after retiring from the Civil Service. Burton's style was detailed draughtsmanship with earthy colour; his landscapes were distinctive by the addition of a strategically placed toadstool and, in his marine-scapes, a green bottle (although this is not obvious in his earlier work).
Burton died in Colchester, Essex in 1995 at the age of 88. Some of his original works reproduced by the publishers Soloman and Whitehead London between 1965 and 1970 are as follows:
North Walsham
North Walsham is a market town and civil parish in Norfolk, England in the North Norfolk district.-Demographics:The civil parish has an area of and in the 2001 census had a population of 11,998. For the purposes of local government, the parish falls within the district of North...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
– 1995 in Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
) was a prolific English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
marine and landscape artist, who painted in oils.
He drew inspiration for his work largely from his rural Norfolk upbringing and his adopted home county of Essex. West Mersea was a particular favourite and Burton is best remembered for his depictions of golden oyster beds and Turneresque skies, his most renowned work reproduced in 1965 is 'Evening Gold'.
Burton was self-taught but often acknowledged the guidance and inspiration of his first wife's father the Irish artist William Crampton Gore
William Crampton Gore
William Crampton Gore RHA was an Irish painter.The son of an army officer from Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Gore studied medicine at TCD, graduating in 1897 and practising until 1901. An intervening period of some months in 1898 was spent studying art under Henry Tonks at the Slade School,...
RHA (1871–1946). Burton spent a year in Australia (1964–1965) perfecting his technique before becoming a professional and commercially successful artist in the early sixties after retiring from the Civil Service. Burton's style was detailed draughtsmanship with earthy colour; his landscapes were distinctive by the addition of a strategically placed toadstool and, in his marine-scapes, a green bottle (although this is not obvious in his earlier work).
Burton died in Colchester, Essex in 1995 at the age of 88. Some of his original works reproduced by the publishers Soloman and Whitehead London between 1965 and 1970 are as follows:
- 'Evening Gold' (1965)
- 'Friday Wood' (1967)
- 'Birch Lake' (1968)
- 'Eventide' (1968)
- 'The Three Pines' (1968)
- 'Oyster Beds' (1968)
- 'Late Evening West Mersea' (1968)
- 'September Eve' (1968)
- 'Moray Firth' (1969)
- 'The Tide Mill Woodbridge' (1969)
- 'Out of Harwich' (1970)
- 'Broadlands' (1970)
- 'Summer Sails Norfolk' (1970)