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About Edward B. Butler
The founder of Butler Brothers, a large mail order firm, Edward Burgess Butler may be remembered most for his collection of paintings by *George Inness, which he donated to the *Art Institute of Chicago. He was the son of Manly Orville and Elizabeth Howe Butler. As a successful businessman, Butler took lessons from the Swiss-American *Frank Charles Peyraud, and exhibited landscapes under the pseudonym of Edward Burgess until he won recognition. Having achieved that goal, Butler devoted himself seriously to what had been his hobby. He exhibited regularly, including a one-man show at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1917. Butler continued to exhibit works there until 1927. Meanwhile in the summer of 1920 he lent paintings to the Art Institute for a special show.
Butler retired from business in 1914 and moved to Pasadena, California; many of his paintings are of California scenes, though some of the most interesting of his slightly impressionistic works were painted in New England and Illinois. Butler’s The Brook appeared at the *Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915. Discussing various works exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago two years later, a critic reported: "In several of Mr. Butler’s California pictures the decorative quality of eucalyptus trees has been well realized. Indeed, his California landscapes are quite uniformly charming. Still, it is among the hills of New England that this artist seems most at home. . . . His Berkshire pictures are . . . delightful in color, composition and in sentiment."
Perhaps the most significant aspect of Butler’s art was his versatility. Exploiting an unusually wide variety of *subject matter, he elasticized his technique to suit the scene while maintaining the general impressionist formula. Although many of Butler’s late works reveal the influence of the *California Broad Style, some pictures lack in color, reflecting more the *tonalist style than impressionism. Other canvases suggest that Butler was more of a businessman than a poet; at times he rendered nature in a matter-of-fact manner. On the other hand, his compositions are pleasantly balanced and often imposing views. Butler was a member of the Chicago Art Club, and his work once could be found in the permanent collections of several museums. In recent years, his works have seldom been exhibited.
REF.
Stuart, 1915, pp. 174, 176-177; Stuart, 1917; Sparks, 1971, vol. 2, p. 316; Moure and Smith, 1975, p. 35; Hughes, 1986, p. 75. |
Paintings by Edward B. Butler
| Summer Harverst, 1915 |
| oil on canvas:25 x 30 inches |
| signed and dated 1915: lower right |
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