George Burton Drake (Artist) (1870-1942) was an American landscape painter.
During his teenage years, Burty, as young George was known by his family, attended Pike Academy in New York. It was there he took up painting as a hobby. During this time he mastered the use of various media, including oils, watercolor, and pencil sketching. Although a prolific, yet to this day a somewhat obscure artist, he seemed to have very gifted artistic abilities since he was also locally recognized as a master carpenter and tinsmith.
Drake typically signed his works as 'GB Drake', often employing accentuated vertical strokes within the signature. Drake seems to have produced far more watercolors paintings than those of other media, yet, as of 2010, his works in each media can still be found occasionally at auctions and estate sales for a modest sum due to the artist's obscurity in the art world and general lack of following. His style is pastoral and serene, typically including his favorite subjects: large trees, a cottage or farmhouse in the distance, and perhaps an individual walking. A 25"x35" oil painting on canvas entitled "The Upland Pasture" acquired from the Strobridge Lithograph Company (Cincinnati, OH) in 1951 is shown.