John Bagnold Burgess

[1] Burgess was born in Chelsea, in London, and was the son of Henry William Burgess, landscape painter to William IV, and part of a family of several generations of distinguished artists (see "Family" below).

[1] Burgess started his career by painting portraits and genre works, before travelling to Spain in 1858, accompanied by his friend and fellow artist Edwin Long - who would become his travelling companion on future painting trips to the country.

For the next some thirty years, Burgess was an annual visitor to Spain, often spending days with Spanish peasants, living their life and sharing their food.

Other paintings are "The Letter-Writer" (1882), "The Scramble at the Wedding" (1884), "The Cigarette Makers" (1887), and "Freedom of the Press" (1890),[2] which was Burgess's diploma work upon being elected a full member of the Royal Academy in 1889.

[1] He died on 12 November 1897 at his home at 60 Finchley Road, London, from the congenital heart disease which had troubled him all his life, and was buried in the Paddington Cemetery at Willesden.