The Burgess Fine Arts Collection was established in 1969 in New York City as an art dealership. It specializes in the sale of select international fine art works from the 19th century to the present for corporate art buyers and serious art collecters.

William H. (Bill) Burgess, III, founder/owner has extensive executive level experience in curatorial and educational programming with major museums in New York City. He began his career in the non-profit sector and held executive positions at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Brooklyn Children's Museum, The New York City Board of Education while teaching at Rutgers University. Thereafter, he held senior manufacturing management sales and marketing positions with Xerox, Steelcase, American Seating and Gunlocke Companies. He owned and operated an office furniture, space planning and design dealership with offices in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County.

Bill was born and educated in Birmingham, Alabama. After attending Phillips Exeter Academy, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Lake Forest College and has studied art history in Italy and Egypt. He studied at the graduate level at Dartmouth's Tuck Business School, Xerox University and The American Management Association. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of The National Minority Business Council and serves on the Boards of 100 Black Men of New York City, Frates: An Ecuadorian Education & Healthcare Center and River View Towers Cooperative. He formerly served on the Boards of The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Children's Art Carnival, The Feminist Press of The City University of New York, and Burgess Home for the Homeless. Bill is a member of The National Minority Supplier Development Council, The NAACP, St. Paul United Methodist Church, Lake Forest College and Dartmouth's Tuck Alumni.