As an artist working in photography, Robert Burley has sought to describe and interpret the built environment in which he lives. Burley’s photographs have been extensively published and exhibited, and can be found in numerous museum collections including the National Gallery of Canada, Musée de l’Elysée, George Eastman House–International Museum of Photography and Film, Canadian Centre for Architecture, and the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal. Books featuring the work of Robert Burley include Viewing Olmsted: Photographs by Robert Burley, Lee Friedlander and Geoffrey James; The Disappearance of Darkness: Photography at the end of the analog era and O’Hare: Airport on the Prairie. Burley has lectured about his work through the Rouse Visiting Artist Program at Harvard University and the Senior Mellon Fellowship Program at the Canadian Centre for Architecture