Elbridge Ayer Burbank
1858 – 1949

BORN IN
Harvard, Illinois
KNOWN FOR
Indian portrait and still life painting
NAME VARIATIONS
E A Burbank, Eldridge Ayer Burbank
Born in Harvard, Illinois, Elbridge Ayer (E.A.) Burbank became a portrait painter of Indian chiefs, leaving a rich historical legacy.
He graduated from the Chicago Art Academy and then, working from a studio in St. Paul, Minnesota, painted scenery for Northwest Magazine to inspire homesteading along the railway line of the Northern Pacific. This job took him West to the Rocky Mountains, Idaho, Washington, and Montana.
 In 1887 and 1889 to 1891, he studied art in Munich, Germany, and there became friends with artists Joseph Henry Sharp, William R. Leigh and Toby Rosenthal. In 1894, Burbank became an American citizen, and graduated from the Chicago Art Institute where he was invited to stay and teach.
Burbank traveled west to Ganado, Arizona, met trading post owner Lorenzo Hubbell who became a life-long friend. During his western trips, he painted over 2000 portraits of Indians from 125 tribes: 1000 were oil portraits and 1200 were with Conte Crayon. He was one of the few artists to use crayon as a medium for portraits and was the only artist to paint Geronimo from life, and he also painted Red Cloud and Chief Joseph.