San Francisco in July 1849 (detail), 1891
George Henry Burgess (b London, 1830; d Berkeley, 1905)
Oil on canvas, Oakland Museum of California, Gift of the Women's Board. Reproduced by Anchor Brewing Company, San Francisco, courtesy Oakland Museum of California.

George Burgess, who settled in Northern California in the mid-1800s, proudly called his meticulously researched and vivid representation of gold rush San Francisco “the infant village put before us, from which our great city has emerged.” It depicts Montgomery Street, looking northwest toward the signal station atop Telegraph Hill. At the corner of Montgomery and California sits an elegant cottage, once home to pioneer William A. Leidesdorff. The American flag is flying over Portsmouth Square. And abandoned ships clog future San Francisco real estate.

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