Tate Britain will shine a spotlight on Edward Burra next summer with the artist’s first major London retrospective in four decades, bringing renewed attention to one of Britain’s most distinctive yet often overlooked 20th century painters.
Opening June 12, 2025, the exhibition will present more than 80 paintings alongside previously unseen archival materials, offering visitors a comprehensive journey through Burra’s remarkable 50-year career.
Burra (1905-1976) created vivid, sometimes surreal scenes that captured the energy and contradictions of his era, from the hedonistic nightlife of the Roaring Twenties to the devastation of war and environmental concerns of the post-industrial age.
“Although Burra lived with rheumatoid arthritis that significantly impacted his mobility, he found ways to create bold, large-scale watercolors that broke with tradition,” explains Thomas Kennedy, Curator of Modern British Art at Tate Britain. “His unique visual language and keen observational skills allowed him to document society from unusual perspectives.”
The exhibition traces Burra’s artistic evolution chronologically, beginning with his early works after graduating from the Royal College of Art. Though based in East Sussex for most of his life, Burra’s travels profoundly influenced his art, with the exhibition highlighting how his visits to Paris, New York, and Spain shaped his distinctive style.
His time in Harlem during the early 1930s proved particularly influential, as he immersed himself in jazz clubs during the Harlem Renaissance. Works like “Red Peppers” (1934-35) capture the multicultural energy of these experiences, while his interest in Mexican culture inspired pieces like “Dancing Skeletons” (1934).
A significant turning point came with the Spanish Civil War in 1936. Having fled Spain at the outbreak of conflict, Burra followed events through newspaper cuttings, which will be featured in the exhibition. His paintings subsequently transformed from humorous observations to serious social commentaries on violence and conflict.
The exhibition will also highlight Burra’s contributions to theater, showcasing his costume and stage designs for major productions at the Royal Opera House and Sadler’s Wells. Music, which was central to Burra’s inspiration, will play throughout the exhibition spaces.
The final section explores Burra’s later landscapes, created as his declining health limited his travels to driving tours of Britain and Ireland. These otherworldly scenes reflect growing environmental concerns, with industrial elements intruding on natural settings.
Running concurrently with an exhibition of works by Ithell Colquhoun, the retrospective is supported by insurance brokerage Lockton, which has entered a multi-year partnership with Tate.
EJ Hentenaar, CEO of Lockton Europe, described the exhibition as “groundbreaking” and highlighted how Burra’s work “explores multiculturalism, performance and sexuality through lyrical, yet disruptive accounts of the cultural renaissance of the 20th century.”
The exhibition runs until October 19, 2025, with tickets available through the Tate website. A companion publication edited by Thomas Kennedy will be released in June 2025.
