Edward Burgess Butler (December 16, 1853 – February 20, 1928) was an American businessman who founded

Butler Brothers Butler Brothers was a retailer and wholesale supplier based in Chicago. It was founded in 1877 as a mail-order company by Charles Hamblet Butler, George Henry Butler, George H. Butler and Edward Burgess Butler. History In the 1920s, Butler Brothe ...

department stores. He served as the first president of the

Pasadena Society of Artists The Pasadena Society of Artists is a nonprofit arts organization in southern California, United States. It holds annual art exhibitions of its members' art works. Overview Pasadena Society of Artists, from its founding, attracted practitioners of a ...

Biography

He was born on December 16, 1853, in

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

to Manly Orville Butler and Elizabeth Howe. He had eight siblings: two of them, George H. Bulter and Charles H. Butler formed a partnership with Edward. Manly owned a grocery store. In 1858, his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and he attended the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

public school system. Together with his brothers, George and Charles, he founded

in 1877. For five years he sold goods throughout

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

as a traveling salesman. He married Jane Holly in 1880, she was the daughter of William Henry Holly, of

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

. With his wealth he collected works by

George Inness George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent United States, American landscape painting, landscape painter. Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced b ...

, and later donated the collection to the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

. Having trained under Frank Charles Peyraud, Butler became a

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent compos ...

. For a time he exhibited his works under a pseudonym, "Edward Burgess". In 1908, he exhibited at the

. One of his oil paintings was displayed at the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely se ...

in 1915. Butler moved to

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

after he retired from business. He died in

on February 20, 1928.

Titles

* Director of Illinois Merchants Trust Company * Chairman of Ways and Means committee * Chairman of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

* President of the

Glenwood, Illinois Glenwood is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,662 at the 2020 census. Geography Glenwood is located at (41.544943, -87.612052). According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Glenwood has a total area of , ...

Manual Training School * Trustee of

Hull House Hull House was a settlement house in Chicago, Illinois, United States that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Located on the Near West Side of the city, Hull House (named after the original house's first owner Cha ...

* Trustee of Chicago Orphan Asylum * Trustee of Girls' Refuge * Trustee of First State Pawners' Society * Trustee of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Edward Burgess 1853 births 1928 deaths People from Lewiston, Maine American businesspeople in retailing American art collectors 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters Businesspeople from Pasadena, California 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists