Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous

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 (Withdrawn due to ill health).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: 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.

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