Gilbert, Burton

Gender:
Male
Date and place of birth:
born. Presumed 1829, London
Date and place of death:
dec. 31.10.1879, Derby Asylum, Derbyshire
Worked:
(fl) 1840s - ca. 1850s
Known places of work:
Huddersfield and presumed Sheffield
Known techniques:
Cut-work
Known materials:
Paper and card
Frames:
Unrecorded
Signature:
Recorded

Introduction:

BURTON GILBERT (1829-1879), was the younger son of Burton Wright Gilbert (1790-1848), a widely itinerant profilist and mezzotint artist. Initially one half of the 'Gilbert and Barnes' partnership (fl.1825-1826), B.W.Gilbert then worked independently, touring towns in England, Scotland and Ireland until his death in Sheffield in July 1848. While rare, several of his profiles are recorded.

However, son Burton's recorded output is scarcer still and limited to one full-length bronze-highlighted cut-work profile laid on card. Illustrated in McKechnie, and dateable to the 1840s, it depicts a girl with a skipping rope, but evidences poor attention to detail.However, Burton Gilbert would have been little older than 12 when he cut the likeness.

It transpires 2 older brothers were also recorded artists:

CHARLES GILBERT (1819-1848) : has no attributable work to his name but likely was taught by his father. His marriage at Sheffield in March 1847 records him an "Artist" of Hull. A year later, the HULL PACKET 20th  October 1848 records "October 18, aged 29, suddenly much lamented, Mr.Charles Gilbert, artist, late of the Victoria Rooms Hull".

HENRY GILBERT (1822-after 1866) : is recorded due to a recently discovered bust-sized work cut and very skilfully embellished with bronze highlights. The work, ca.1840, is housed in a papier mâché frame bearing an unrecorded trade label re "H.GILBERT ARTIST of REGENT ST. LONDON and 73 PRINCES ST. EDINBURGH.". While remaining his only verified work, Henry Gilbert also appears in the CUMBERLAND PACKET  14th September 1841, offering "CORRECT LIKENESSES either in BLACK OR COLOURS taken by MR. and MRS. H. GILBERT".

Brother Burton Gilbert left fewer and finally starker records. In the 1841 Scottish Census, aged 12, he is listed with his father, mother and 2 sisters in Ayr. His father is recorded an "Artist". The 1851 English Census locates Burton as a "Portrait Painter" lodging in a Temperance Hotel in Market St., Huddersfield.

For the next 27 years Burton Gilbert is seemingly absent from records until committed to Derby Asylum in September 1878. He is recorded dying there the following month on 31st. October. His place of interrment is unknown.

REVISED: 26 February 2023 (Brian Wellings)

 

Additional research about Burton Gilbert:

Source: McKechnie (Author of, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860)

Gilbert, Burton (McKechnie Section 1)