Born on 26 July 1856 in Bridgwater, Somerset (GRO), the artist studied at South Kensington and at the Slade. He worked in Rome with Cipriani (1878) and in Paris with Lefebvre, Cormon, Boulanger and Bonnat.

He lived for a period (unspecified as yet) in the West Country, and later in the South of France. He was a friend of Stanhope FORBES, from Quimperle, and Forbes encouraged he and his friend Tom Trythall ROWE to visit Newlyn soon after his own decision to stay in 1884. 

In September 1884 The Cornishman reported that there were 27 artists working in Newlyn, although Burrington did not turn up until 1885 and remained for a short time only in the West country. He died on 9 October 1924 in Garda, near Verona, Italy.  Bednar has secured the Italian certificate verifying his death, and noted his earliest known date of a visit to West Cornwall from Forbes' letters of 1888.