Edward Burra

A new, major monograph on the unconventional life and works of English painter, printmaker, and draftsman Edward Burra (1905–1976)

A contemporary to British surrealist artist Paul Nash, Edward Burra is known in particular for his depictions of contemporary urban life and the 1930s Harlem scene. Despite being afflicted with many health conditions throughout his lifetime, he traveled extensively to France, Spain, North America, and Mexico, their influences appearing across his paintings, his music, and his designs for the ballet, opera, and the theater. This exciting publication—set to accompany the first Tate exhibition of Burra’s works since the artist’s lifetime in 1973—offers a close look at over 80 of Burra’s works, some of which will be presented for the first time from the Tate archives. It reveals the life of an artist who experienced firsthand many of the most turbulent and catastrophic events of the 20th century, including the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War, and reflected them in his increasingly Surrealist work.