NAM.1977-04-78-1

Major-General Sir Owen Tudor Burne GCIE, KSI (1837-1909), 1900. Oil on canvas by Elizabeth Anne Leslie-Melville (1829-1919), 1900 (c). Owen Tudor Burne was commissioned into the 20th [The East Devonshire] Regiment of Foot in 1855 at the age of 18. He served in the Crimean War (1854-56), and took part in 15 actions during the suppression of the Indian Mutiny (1857-59), including the siege and capture of Lucknow. In 1861 he became Military Secretary to Sir Hugh Rose (later Lord Strathnairn), Commander-in-Chief India, and from 1868 to 1872 was Private Secretary to Earl Mayo, Viceroy of India. Burne was a member of the Council of India from 1887 to 1897, and was made Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (GCIE) in 1896. He wears the robes of the Order over his General Officer’s uniform in this portrait. He died on 3 February 1909, aged 71. Eliza Anne Leslie Melville (1829-1919) was a portrait and genre painter. One of her most celebrated works is a portrait of Queen Victoria which she gifted to RUSI in 1909. She exhibited at the RA and Society of British Artists.