After completing his education at Te Aro School, Geroge worked for his father, who was a builder, and studied art part-time under James Nairn at the Wellington School of Design.
George Edmund Butler became New Zealand’s second official war artist in August 1918 – three months before the end of the war.
The New Zealand Expeditionary Force War Museum Committee approached him to be an official New Zealand war artist because of his reputation as an artist and his New Zealand connections. Appointed with the honorary rank of Captain in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) in September 1918, he joined the New Zealand Division in France later that same month.
He observed a number of military operations, some while under fire, during his time with the Division, making drawings in a sketchbook. These sketches later became the basis for his paintings. After the Armistice, George returned to France and Belgium to sketch the various New Zealand battlefield sites.
Although he is now virtually unknown, at the time of his recruitment George Edmund Butler was recognised as a critically acclaimed artist in New Zealand and England. In 1904 alone, Butler won first prize in the art section of the Hawera Industrial Exhibition; had his first painting exhibited at the British Royal Academy’s prestigious annual exhibition in London; and was included in the New Zealand section of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (or World’s Fair), held in St Louis, Missouri. Butler also represented Wellington artists at the New Zealand International Exhibition of Arts and Industries held in Christchurch (1906-7).
He was distinguished by a Mention Honourable at the Paris Salon of the Société des artistes français in 1911, and was elected to Bristol’s Royal West of England Academy in 1912.
The NZEF War Records Section was keen to have such a successful New Zealand artist in the War Artists’ Section. Butler took up his official position with pride. He devoted himself to making work that would appeal to a New Zealand audience and be appropriate for the commemorative function of a War Memorial Museum. He wanted his official paintings to show issues, events and places that would resonate with New Zealanders and this comes across in his careful choice of subject matter.
Portrait of Major General Sir Andrew Hamilton Russell KCB, KCMG painted by George Edmund Butler - oil on canvas.
