Rodney Joseph Burn
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| Born | (1899-07-11)11 July 1899
Palmers Green, London, England
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| Died | 11 August 1984(1984-08-11) (aged 85) |
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| Known for | Landscape & portrait painting |
Rodney Joseph Burn RA (11 July 1899 – 11 August 1984) was a British artist who painted landscapes, portraits and figures and seascapes.[1][2] During his long career he also worked in America and painted in the Channel Islands and Venice and was elected a member of the Royal Academy in 1962.
Burn was born in Palmers Green in London and attended Harrow School.[3] His father was Sir Joseph Burn, who was the chairman of the Prudential Insurance company.[4]
After military service in the British army in World War One, Burn entered the Slade School of Art where he studied between 1918 and 1922.[5] At the Slade Burn won six major prizes, featured in an article in The Burlington Magazine and met his future wife, the sculptor Dorothy Sharwood Smith.[6] Burn was among a number of London artschool graduates selected by the London County Council to produce a large work for a series showing scenes from London parks, that was intended for the newly built County Hall.[7] Burn exhibited with the New English Art Club from 1923 and held a joint exhibition, with Stephen Bone and Robin Guthrie, at the Goupil Gallery in 1926.[5] From 1929 to 1931 he taught as a tutor at the Royal College of Art.[8] From 1931 to 1934 he was, with Robin Guthrie, the joint director of painting and drawing at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[6]
During the Second World War, Burn was among the artists who worked at the Civil Defence Camouflage Establishment based in Leamington Spa. Later during the war he completed a number of short commissions for the War Artists' Advisory Committee, including a portrait of Dr Stradling, a Director of the Camouflage Establishment.[9] After the war Burn returned to the Royal College of Art and taught there as a Senior Tutor until his retirement in 1965.[8] During his career he also taught at both the Camberwell School of Art and at the City and Guilds of London Art School.[3] Dorothy Sharwood Smith also taught at Camberwell for several years.[10] Burn spent his later years teaching in Europe and sailing. For a time he lived on the south coast of England near Chichester and his last studio was on the bank of the Thames at Chiswick.[6]
Burn was a member of or affiliated with the following organisations:[11]
Burn was also a member of the Royal West of England Academy and President of the St. Ives Society of Artists
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