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Contributing Institution:
Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Elbridge Ayer Burbank Collection
Creator:
Burbank, E. A. (Elbridge Ayer)
Identifier/Call Number: MS.577
Physical Description:
5 Linear Feet
(4 document boxes, 3 portfolio boxes)
Date: 1900-1949
Abstract: Elbridge Ayer Burbank was an artist known for his portraits of American Indians. He was born 1858 August 10 in the village
of Harvard Junction in northern Illinois. He enrolled in the Academy of Design, Chicago (now the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago) in 1874. Works by Burbank were included in exhibitions in Paris, the St. Louis Worlds Fair, and The Chicago Art
Institute. He was struck down by a cable car in 1949 and died two months later on 1949 April 21 at the age of 91. The collection
includes correspondence, published reproductions of Burbank's artwork, published articles by or about Burbank, and orginal
artwork by Burbank from 1900-1949. It also includes one scrapbook of autographed pictures and thank you notes from actors
and celebrities such as Shirley Temple, Jean Harlow, Deanna Durbin, and Jane Withers.
Language of Material:
English
.
Portion of the collection from multiple Library donation and purchases, 1910-1945. Portion of the collection gift of E.A.
Burbank, 1942-1945.
Illustrated articles about Burbank's paintings, correspondence, original sketches, and scrapbooks were a gift of E.A. Burbank
to the Library, received 1942-1945, accession number 746.G. Other published articles and reproductions of Burbank's artwork
were acquired by the Library from 1910-1945 and were originally from the collections of Hector Alliot, Clifford Baldwin, Frederick
Webb Hodge, George Wharton James, Charles Lummis, Joseph Amasa Munk, and Charles McCormack Reeve.
Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit
https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives and fill out the Researcher Application Form.
Elbridge Ayer Burbank Collection, 1900-1949, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.577; [folder number] [folder title][date].
Partially processed by Glenna Schroeder, circa 1977-1981. Biographical note created by Maritxu de Alaiza, 2012 April 5. Finding
aid created by Anna Liza Posas 2013. Final processing of collection and publication of finding aid made possible by a grant
from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Elbridge Ayer Burbank (1858-1949) was an artist known for his portraits of American Indians and African Americans.
Burbank was born 1858 August 10 in what was then the newly established village of Harvard Junction in northern Illinois at
the edge of Indian country. The Burbank and Ayer families came to Illinois from Massachusetts in 1836. Burbank was the nephew
of Edward E. Ayer, the first president of the Field Museum of Chicago and a trustee of the Newberry Library. Ayer also owned
substantial collections of books and original manuscripts in the subjects of Native American and colonial-era history and
ethnology.
Burbank began to draw at an early age, but received his first formal art education at Academy of Design, Chicago (now the
School of the Art Institute of Chicago) where he enrolled in 1874. After graduating, Burbank opened a small studio in St.
Paul, Minnesota. Eugene Smalley, editor of the
Northwest Illustrated Monthly, became acquainted with his work and offered him a job. In this period Burbank made two trips to Munich to further his artistic
education, returning to Chicago in 1892. In this same year Burbank opened a studio in the Athenium Building. His first oil
portraits were of local African American youths. These small paintings, some only two inches square on mahogany wood panels,
became the young artist's trademark. His "American Beauty," a small boy holding an American Beauty rose, was reproduced as
a chromo in the Sunday supplements of the
Northwest Illustrated Monthly.
In 1893 Burbank was awarded the Yerkes first prize and in 1895 he was given an honorable mention medal at the Atlanta Georgia
Exposition. Works by Burbank were included in exhibitions in Paris, the St. Louis Worlds Fair, and The Chicago Art Institute.
Burbank became a member of the Chicago Society of Artists.
Burbank's interest in American Indian subjects increased and he painted portraits of such luminaries as Geronimo and Chief
Joseph, the leader of the Nez Perces Indians. In 1905 Burbank spent 10 months in Ganado, Arizona sketching and painting the
Navajos. A series of articles appeared in the Los Angeles-based magazine,
The Graphic Magazine, in 1910, on Burbank's experiences of painting Indians. Burbank's best seller and most widely publicized picture was of Medicine
Woman, a Cheyenne squaw. She was one of the best and most admired dancers among the Cheyenne.
Public and private institutions control the bulk of his work. Among these are: Field Museum, Butler Art Institute, Newberry
Library, Gilerease Art Museum, Southwest Museum, Pony Express Museum, Smithsonian Institute.
Burbank's last years were spent at the Manx Hotel in San Francisco. He was struck down by a cable car in 1949 and both of
his hips were broken. He died two months later on 1949 April 21 at the age of 91.
References:
McNeill, T. S. (1969). "E. A. Burbank: Painter of Indians, 1858-1949."
The Westerners Brand Book, Number 1. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners.
Sullivan, S. M. (1983).
Many brushes: Elbridge Ayer Burbank, painter of Indian portraits. (Master's thesis).
White, N. L. (June, 1908). "A painter of Indians."
West Coast Magazine, 4.
The collection includes folders of correspondence, published reproductions of Burbank's artwork, published articles by or
about Burbank, and orginal artwork by Burbank.
This collections also consists of bound scrapbooks. Four scrapbooks include correspondence from 1941-1945 and the topics of
the correspodence primarily relate to Burbank's artwork. The largest number of correspondence is from Sadivoe Olga Gaddin,
who usually signs her letters as "Davie." One other scrapbook includes autographed pictures and thank you notes from actors
and celebrities such as Shirley Temple, Jean Harlow, Deanna Durbin, and Jane Withers.
Most of the artwork in this collection are portraits of Plains Indians, but also include historic figures, California buildings,
and Pueblo houses in New Mexico. The artwork primarily consists of reproductions published in magazines, journals, ephemera,
and postcards. A small number of items are original sketches.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is
given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographs
Correspondence
Artwork
Articles
Scrapbooks
Indians of North America -- Great Plains -- Portraits
Biography