Elbridge Burbank was born in Harvard, Illinois in 1858. He first studied at the Art Institute on Chicago and continued in Munich. Upon his return to the states, Burbank had the opportunity to travel the American West as an illustrator for Northwest Magazine.

In 1898 Burbank received a commission from a wealthy uncle to paint portraits of Native Americans. This was a daunting task and over the course of many years he had made over 1200 portraits of members of more than 125 tribes. He is the only artist to have painted Geronimo from life. Elbridge Burbank died in San Francisco in 1949 after being hit by a cable car.

The founder of Darvill's Rare Prints - Fred T. Darvill - knew Burbank personally when the shop was in San Francisco during the late 1920s and 1930s. Darvill commissioned many paintings by Burbank with the intention of selling the prints. Many E.A. Burbank prints, especially those of San Francisco, are only to be found at Darvill's Rare Prints to this day!