Henry Burton

Harry Burton (13 September 1879 – 27 June 1940) was an English archaeological photographer, best known for his photographs of excavations in Egypt's Valley of the Kings. Today, he is sometimes referred to as an Egyptologist, since he worked for the Egyptian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for around 25 years, from 1915 until his death. His most famous photographs are the estimated 3,400 or more images that he took documenting Howard Carter's excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb from 1922 to 1932.

Early life

Burton was born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, to journeyman cabinet maker William Burton and Ann Hufton, the fifth of eleven children.

Career

In his teens, he began to work for the art historian Robert Henry Hobart Cust and in 1896 moved to Florence, Italy, acting as Cust's secretary and establishing a reputation as an art photographer.

While in Florence, Burton met Theodore M. Davis, a wealthy American lawyer who sponsored a number of excavations of ancient tombs in Egypt. When in 1910 Cust returned to England, Burton went to Egypt, where Davis employed him as a photographer to record his excavations, including the artefacts found. Burton also supervised a number of tomb excavations and clearances, including KV3 and KV47 in 1912, and KV7 in 1913–14.

When Davis relinquished his excavation permit in 1914, Burton was engaged by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian Expedition to serve as their official photographer, often working closely with Herbert E. Winlock. Over the next few years, Burton worked with the Metropolitan team on numerous excavations, mostly around Thebes. His photographs frequently appeared in the Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and other publications, although they were often not credited.