George Henry Burgess was an English American painter, wood engraver and lithographer. In London, he received training in lithography. With two other brothers preceding them, in 1850 Burgess traveled to California in the company of his brother Charles. Once there, the Burgess brothers set up a jewelry and watch repair business in Sonora. Unsuccessful at mining, George spent time sketching the gold fields and mining activity. In 1856, he made the first of three trips to Hawaii, where he painted the royal family and made preparations for lithographic views of Honolulu. In San Francisco, his primary source of income was painting portraits, but he often revisited the Gold Rush theme. Burgess' most well-known work is the massive San Francisco in July, 1849, now located at the Oakland Museum of California.

The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located at 1000 Oak Street in Oakland, California. The museum contains more than 1.8 million objects dedicated to "telling the extraordinary story of California."