
Steamy scenes in urban underworlds were Edward Burra’s great subject—now they’re coming to Tate Britain
Florence Hallett | The Art Newspaper | 30th May 2025
Blessed with family wealth but cursed with ill-health Burra was an eccentric. When he started painting in the 1920’s, abstract work in oils was all the rage. He was the odd man out, preferring watercolours and painteing the “louche underbelly of city life”. They are satirical, resonating somewhat with George Grosz’s works about Weimar Germany. Says one writer, “one of the most overlooked artists of the 20th century”.