British archaeologist and photographer. Born, Stamford 1879. Died, Asyut 1940. Began his photographic career in Florence with the art historian R. Cust. He was then engaged as a excavator at Thebes by Theodore Davis between 1910-14. Then from 1914 onwards he worked for the rest of his career as a photographer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. His task was to record many of the royal and private tombs at Thebes. Between 1922 and 1933 he was lent by the Metropolitan Museum to Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter to make a photographic record during the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Published
Photographic records made during the excavation of the Tomb of Tutankhamun, consisting of approximately 1400 black and white glass negatives. 10 albums of original prints made from these negatives for Carter, and original prints made for and kept with the object card index for the excavation.
Kept as received.
No problems.
Miss Walker donated the Carter MSS in several groups in 1945, 1946, 1959, and 1972. Exchange of photographs in 1951 with Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, to complete gaps in both sets.
Part of the Carter bequest to his niece Miss Phyllis Walker in 1939.
-Related documentation: Griffith Institute Archive MSS Correspondence box file.
Griffith Institute, Oxford (TAA i.5.1-2024, i-xcvi), and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
2 sets of modern negatives made from the originals (TAA iii.4-5), 2 sets of modern prints ( TAA iii.6-7), scans made from negatives (TAA iii.17), all in Griffith Institute.
Griffith Institute Archive:
- Griffith Institute reference set of photographs taken by Burton in royal and private tombs at Thebes. Copyright, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Property of the Griffith Institute. No restrictions.
Copyright Griffith Institute, Oxford, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Catalogue.
- See web publication http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/discoveringTut/ (_Tutankhamun: Anatomy of an Excavation_).
- The Tutankhamun photographs have been used extensively in numerous publications, most notably Howard Carter's publication of the tomb, and several fascicles of the Griffith Institute’s Tutankhamun Tomb Series.