Edward Francis Burney (1760 - 1848)

Edward Francis Burney (1760 - 1848)

RA Collection: People and Organisations

Edward Francis Burney (also known as Edward Francisco Burney) was born in Worcester in 1760. He was part of a notably creative family: his father was a dancing-master and his brother was a musician, while the music historian Charles Burney (1726–1814) was his uncle and the novelist Fanny Burney (1752–1840) was his cousin.

Burney studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1777, and while there made two fine drawings (now in the RA collection) of the Antique School where he would have drawn from plaster casts. He began exhibiting at the RA in 1780, continuing to do so until 1803.

His work includes portraits of his family and friends, history paintings, and illustrations to literary works (including Fanny Burney’s Evelina). Burney’s drawings also provide valuable records of 18th century social life, whether the hang of the 1784 RA exhibition or the Eidophusikon of P. J. de Loutherbourg (a miniature theatre using pictures and sound to create the illusion of changing nature). Burney died in London in 1848.