Edward Burra (1905-1976)

Cafe

Poor health meant that Burra was mainly educated at home before studying at Chelsea Polytechnic and the Royal College of Art. Burra's preferred medium was watercolour and he developed a unique approach that gave his pictures their distinctive sharpness and vivid colour.

During the 1920s and 1930s Burra's main subject was urban life. He was particularly attracted to a disreputable world of seedy bars, cafes and clubs. He travelled to Europe and America in search of subjects but usually developed his pictures at home in Rye based on memories of his experiences. The carefully observed details of the cafe, the grotesque figures and an underlying feeling of menace is typical of his work at this time.

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