About
Biography
Abigail Burton is a classically trained oil painter from London.
Born in 1997, Abigail grew up surrounded by her grandmother’s artwork and developed an early obsession with drawing. Her childhood was uniquely shaped by life aboard a houseboat on the Thames. This, combined with long coastal walks and time spent on the river after moving to East Sussex as a teenager, cultivated her appreciation for natural beauty.
Abigail was also drawn to the beauty mathematics. She pursued this academically, studying at the University of Oxford, where she completed a master’s degree in 2019 before embarking on a PhD at Imperial College London.Yet, over time, her love for painting began to eclipse her fascination with maths. In 2021, she made the decision to leave academia and devote herself fully to her artistic practice.
After studying classical realist art at the Barnes Atelier, Abigail now continues to develop her craft, creating a blend of meticulous studio works and expressive plein air pieces, including as a Hudson River fellow in 2024.
Her art has been showcased in numerous prestigious exhibitions about the UK and internationally (one of her paintings was even been sent to the moon by NASA!).
Philosophy
Abigail’s work in representational art is driven by a deep curiosity about visual phenomena and her responses to them. She is equally fascinated by symbolism—how we assign personalities to objects and construct stories around them. She explores how we filter and process reality, particularly through the imaginative play that is especially present in childhood.
Using traditional techniques and often working directly from life, Abigail seeks to capture the complexity of human perception and the way we interpret the world around us. She believes that, whether in mathematics or art, the most beautiful results come from reality, and that mastery of its fundamental principles is essential for breaking and reimagining them.
For Abigail, the worlds of math and art are closely aligned, both rooted in creativity and the pursuit of truth. In both fields, she sees the process of abstraction and simplification as a means of uncovering deeper truths within the human experience.
Her mathematical background shapes her approach to art: she values technical precision and combines it with intuition, analysis, and perseverance—much as she would approach any problem in mathematics.
Education
2024/present – The North London Group – Core Programme
2021/2024 – The Barnes Atelier – Core Studio Programme
2019/2021 – The London School of Geometry and Number Theory
2015/2019 – The University of Oxford – MMath Mathematics – First Class
Notable Exhibitions
2025
London by Urban Sketchers – The Art Pavilion
The London Sketch Club Spring Exhibition – The London Sketch Club
Society of Graphic Fine Art – The Mall Galleries
Works on Paper – The Gallery at Green and Stone
2024
Royal Institute of Oil Painters – The Mall Galleries
Hudson River Fellowship Exhibition – The Salmagundi Club, New York
The Almenara Art Prize – Online
Green and Stone Summer Exhibition – The Gallery at Green and Stone
Art in the Open – Green Acres Gallery, Wexford
The Barnes Atelier Summer Exhibition – Fletcher and Seymour Gallery
Hampstead Art Society – Online
The Society of Women Artists – The Mall Galleries
Chelsea Art Society – Chelsea Old Town Hall
Works on Paper – The Gallery at Green and Stone
2023
Royal Institute of Oil Painters – Mall Galleries
Discerning Eye – Mall Galleries
Green and Stone Summer Exhibition – The Gallery at Green and Stone
Art in the Open – Green Acres Gallery, Wexford
Chelsea Art Society – Chelsea Old Town Hall
Bath Society of Artists – Victoria Art Gallery
The Royal Society of Portrait Painters – Mall Galleries – ‘Highly Commended’ by the de Laszlo Foundation
Works on Paper – The Gallery at Green and Stone
Society of Scottish Artists – Royal Scottish Academy
Awards
Art
The London Sketch Club Life Drawing Prize – 2025
Royal Institute of Oil Painters Paint Live – 3rd place – 2024
Art Renewal Center Finalist – 2024
Lunar Codex – A painting included in a time capsule placed by NASA on the moon – 2024
Art in the Open Quick Draw Competition – 3rd place – 2024
The Hudson River Fellowship – 3 week plein air painting residency in Connecticut – 2024
Highly Commended by the De Laszlo Foundation – Royal Portrait Society exhibition – 2023
Maths
EPSRC award to study for the Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics – 2019-2023
Book Prize – St Peters College, Oxford – 2019
Charles Caine Mathematics Prize – St Peter’s College, Oxford – 2019
Undergraduate Research Bursary – London Mathematical Society – 2018
Undergraduate Research Bursary – Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford – 2017
Academic Scholarship – St Peter’s College Oxford – 2016
Representation
Riverside Gallery – 2024/present – riversidegallery.co.uk