George Elbert Burr: The Desert Etchings

George Elbert Burr: The Desert Etchings opens at the Phoenix Art Museum on November 28, 2025, in the Orme Lewis Gallery of the James K. Ballinger Wing. It's a look at the desert etchings of George Elbert Burr, an American painter and printmaker who spent the latter part of his life right here in Phoenix.

Burr didn't start out in the Southwest. Born in the Midwest, he moved to New York City in 1888 and made his name as a traveling illustrator for magazines like Harper's and Frank Leslie's Weekly. In 1891, he served as illustrator and photographer on President Benjamin Harrison's Western tour. After years in Europe and some health challenges in 1906, he settled in Denver, where he turned to printmaking and produced his acclaimed Desert Set from sketches of the Southwest. He eventually moved to Phoenix in 1924 and became a fixture of the local arts scene, helping found the Phoenix Fine Art Association and the community effort that led to the opening of the Phoenix Art Museum in 1959.

Over his career, Burr created roughly 25,000 works from an estimated 367 plates. Curator Olga Viso has noted his technical mastery in rendering minute desert details, and while he's less recognized than European predecessors like Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt, his etchings of resolutely American subjects have been hung alongside theirs. This exhibition brings those desert scenes back to the city where he spent his final decades.

Admission is included in general admission, which is $23. It's free for Museum Members and youth aged 5 and younger. There's also reduced admission during voluntary-donation times: Wednesdays from 3 PM to 8 PM and First Fridays from 5 PM to 8 PM. The gallery is at 1625 N Central Ave.