Harry Burton began working for the Egyptian Expedition's Graphic Section in 1914. Burton, who was British, had learned photography in Florence, Italy, where he became known for his ability to photograph paintings. At a time when only black-and-white photography was available, he developed consummate skill in using infinite shades of gray to give a sense of the original colors in great works of art. It was for this skill that he was hired. The chief mission of the Graphic Section was to provide a record of the paintings in as many Theban tombs as possible. To attain this goal, photography was essential, and Burton was seen as the perfect photographer for the job.

During more than thirty years, he made a systematic photographic record of some 100 Theban tombs. A few of these were royal tombs in the Valleys of the Kings and Queens, but most were small offering chapels of officials, with their scenes of daily life. Except for the deepest of the royal tombs, which required electric lamps, Burton found the most effective way to light tomb interiors was the local technique of reflecting sunlight with mirrors. He also developed a camera mount that allowed him to take the photographs in each tomb at the same distance from the walls, and thus at the same scale.

Originally hired to document tomb paintings, Burton quickly became the official photographer for the Theban excavations as well. He photographed the landscape before and after excavation, documented work in progress, and took record photographs of the objects being uncovered. He was also a brilliant storyteller, using photographs to convey the atmosphere of a tomb unseen for thousands of years; the poignancy of a wreath left as a parting gift; the anticipation inspired by a sealed door. He also brought a sense of artistry to his work that created images of haunting beauty and mystery.

Burton's photographs illustrate the yearly excavation updates that were published in the Museum Bulletins. They were also used in numerous scholarly publications by Metropolitan Museum Egyptologist Herbert E. Winlock and his colleagues, and in the series of Theban tomb publications produced by Norman de Garis Davies for the Graphic Section. His clear, informative images gained Burton a reputation as the finest archaeological photographer of his time. It is not surprising that, when Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922, Howard Carter contacted Albert M. Lythgoe, Director of the Museum's excavations, and requested Burton's assistance. The request was immediately approved and Burton spent the next decade dividing his time among the Museum's Theban excavations, the Graphic Section, and the documentation of Tutankhamun's tomb.