Brief Biography-Augustus Nicholas Burke was from Co Galway, Ireland. It is said he was a descendant of William the Conqueror. His brother Thomas Henry Burke was Permanent Undersecretary which was the top Irish civil servant post.
Augustus began sketching in his locality at a very early age and later did his studies at the Royal Academy in London. He became professor of painting at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin. In 1870, he went to Holland for two years to paint and from there he travelled on to Brittany in France. Both countries had an influence on his work which he later exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy. Walter Osborne who became one of Ireland's most prominent artists was a student of Burke.
When his Brother Thomas Henry was murdered in the Phoenix Park Dublin along with Lord Frederick Cavendish the Chief Secretary for Ireland, by the 'Irish National Invincibles' group, it upset him so much he emigrated to Italy.