Who was Edward Burra?
Painter, Illustrator and Stage Designer.
Date and Place of Birth:
29th March 1905, Elvaston Place, South Kensington,
London, England.
Family Background:
Only surviving son of Henry Curteis Burra a barrister
and his wife Ermentrude Anne Robertson-Luxford.
Education:
Northaw Place prep school, Potters Bar. (Withdrawn
due to ill health). Educated at home instead of going to Eton. Chelsea
Polytechnic 1921-23, Royal College of Art 1923-25.
Chronology/Biography of Edward
Burra:
1920: Visits Switzerland
with his mother.
1921: Takes art
lessons with Miss Bradley in Rye.
1922: Became interested
in films whilst at Chelsea Polytechnic and also jazz. He would buy
his records at Levy's in Aldgate.
1925: After leaving
the Royal College of Art he travelled to Paris with his friend the
dancer and producer William Chappell. (October) Joined the London
Film Society with his friend Barbara Ker-Seymer.
1926: Visits his
sister Anne in Florence with his family. He was particularly keen
on the Botticellis in the Uffizi Gallery.
1927: (January)
visits Paris again and the South of France. Becomes friendly with
the artist Paul Nash who lived near Rye at
the time. Exhibited in the New English Art Club show, probably encouraged
by Nash.
1928: Visited Toulon
with Chappell and, amongst other people, the writer Anthony Powell.
(December) Meets Frederick Ashton in Paris.
1929: First one-man
exhibition at the Leicester Galleries in London. Became interested
in the works of George Grosz which he had seen in periodicals given
to him by Nash.
1930: Visits France
again with Nash.
1931: Introduced
to the American poet Conrad Aiken by Nash. He had settled in Rye
the previous year and this was the start of a lifelong friendship.
(May) Visits Paris again.
1932: Showed some
"decorative objects" at the Zwemmer Gallery. (June) Second
one-man exhibition at the Leicester Galleries. Illustrates Humbert
Woolf's "ABC of the Theatre". Designs the sets and costumes
for Frederick Ashton's ballet "Rio Grande".
1933: Visits Paris,
Spain, New York and Boston.
1934: Exhibits at
the "Unit One" exhibition at the Mayor Gallery in London.
1935: Visits Barcelona
and Madrid.
1936: Designs sets
and costumes for Ninette de Valois's ballet "Barabau"
at Saddlers Wells Theatre. (June) represented in the International
Surrealist Exhibition in London and signs the statement by the English
Surrealist Group which appears in the International Surrealist Bulletin
No 4. (December) Exhibits in "Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism"
at the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
1937: Stays in Boston
with his friends the Aikens.
1938: Exhibits in
the International Surrealist Exhibition the Gallerie des Beaux Arts
in Paris. (July) Visits Dublin and the West of Ireland.
1939: Included in
the British Pavilion at the New York World Fair. Visits Milan and
Venice with his sister Anne.
1940: Spends much
of the War years at his home, Springfield, near Rye as travel is
difficult.
1942: Retrospective
exhibition at the Redfern Gallery, London.
1944: Designs sets
and costumes for Robert Helpman's ballet "Miracle in the Gorbals"
1946: Stayed at
Grasmere in the Lake District with his friend Conrad Aiken.
1947: Designs sets
and costumes for Bizet's Carmen at the Royal Opera House. Visits
Dublin with his sister Anne.
1948: Designs sets
and costumes for Ashton's Ballet "Don Juan". Illustrates
Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
1949: One man exhibition
at the Leicester Galleries, London.
1950: Designs sets
and costumes for De Valois's ballet "Don Quixote".
1951: Included in
the Art's Council Festival of Britain exhibition.
1952: First exhibition
at the Lefevre Gallery in London. Visits Paris and Barcelona.
1953: Stays with
the Aikens at Cape Cod in America. The Burra family leave Springfield
for Chapel House in the middle of Rye which had been built for them.
1955: Visits New
York and Boston.
1958: Death of his
father.
1959: Visits Paris
and has a one man exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery.
1961: Visits Paris
and has a one man exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery.
1962: Last visit
to Ireland. Takes day trips top Boulougne. Visits the Bacon
Exhibition at the Tate Gallery.
1963: Refuses an
A.R.A offered by the Royal Academy of Arts.
1964: First visit
to Holland with his sister. Meets Bacon via his friend John Banting.
1965: Visits Norwich
with his sister. One man exhibition at the Lefevere Gallery. (August)
Visits Florence.
1966: Visits Lincoln,
Boston and Kings Lynn. (September) Revisits friends in Florence.
1967: Visits Peterborough,
Norwich and the North Norfolk coast with his sister. Two visits
to Harrogate.
1968: Death of his
Mother.
1969: Moves from
Chapel House to 2 Springfield Cottages, a gardener's cottage next
to his former home, Springfield at Playden, near Rye. Visits Rochester,
the Peak District, Bath and Salisbury.
1970: Visits Norwich
with his sister. (Spends August in Penzance, Cornwall with his sister.
1971: Visits Bath
and then on to the South Wales Valleys. Shows new work at the Lefevre
Gallery and early woodcuts at the Treadwell Gallery in London. (June)
Awarded a C.B.E. in the Birthday Honours list. Visits Liverpool
and Snowdonia (October) Starts his first etchings.
1972: Visits North
Yorkshire and Northumberland with his sister.
1973: Visits the
Lake District with his sister. (May) Edward Burra Retrospective
of 143 of his pictures at the Tate Gallery. (September) Visits Tavistock
and Dartmoor with his sister.
1974: Visits North
Yorkshire with his sister. Northumberland, (Lindisfarne and Warkworth
Castle) and then on to Scotland to the Cairngorms. Breaks his hip
during the year from which he never fully recovered.
Marriage:
Never Married.
Places of Interest:
EAST SUSSEX:
2 Springfield Cottages, Playden, Rye. (former
home).
LONDON:
Tate Britain.
Date and Place of Death:
22nd October 1976, Hastings, England.
Age at Death:
71.
Site of Grave:
Rye, East Sussex.
