1905-1976
Biography
1905
Born in London on March 29th.
1921
Took art lessons with Miss Bradley in Rye.
1921-3
Studied at the Chelsea Polytechnic.
1923-5
Studied at the Royal College of Art.
1925
Traveled to Paris with his friend, dancer and producer William Chappell. Joined the London Film Society in October.
1925-30
Spent considerable time in France, painting urban scenes of Toulon and Marseille.
1932
Illustrated Humbert Woolf's 'ABC of the Theatre'. Designed the sets and costumes for Frederick Ashton's ballet 'Rio Grande'.
1936
Designed sets and costumes for Ninette de Valois's ballet 'Barabau' at Saddlers Wells Theatre.
1944
Designed sets and costumes for Robert Helpman's ballet "Miracle in the Gorbals"
1947
Designed sets and costumes for Bizet's Carmen at the Royal Opera House. VisitedDublin with his sister Anne.
1948
Designed sets and costumes for Ashton's Ballet 'Don Juan'. Illustrated Mark Twain's 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'.
1950
Designed sets and costumes for De Valois's ballet 'Don Quixote'.
1951
Included in the Art's Council Festival of Britain exhibition.
1963
Declined elected position as Associate of the Royal Academy of Arts
1971
Awarded a C.B.E. in the Birthday Honours list.
1979
Died.
Selected Exhibitions
First one-man show, Leicester Galleries, London.
1933
Featured in the 'Art Now' exhibition, Mayor Gallery, London.
1934
Included in the 'Unit One' exhibition, Mayor Gallery, London.
1936
Exhibited at the International Surrealist Exhibition, London.
1936 Included in 'Fantastic Art, Dada and Surrealism' at MOMA, New York.
1938
Exhibited at the International Surrealist Exhibition, the Galérie des Beaux Arts, Paris.
1939
Included in the British Pavilion at the New York World Fair.
1942
Retrospective at the Redfern Gallery, London.
1949
One-man show at the Leicester Galleries, London.
1952
First exhibition at the Lefevre Gallery, London.
1959
One-man show at the Lefevre Gallery, London.
1961
One-man show at the Lefevre Gallery, London.
1965
One-man show at the Lefevre Gallery, London.
1973
Retrospective at the Tate Gallery, London.
1985
Retrospective at the Hayward Gallery, London.
2003
'Edward Burra: Stage and Cabaret', James Hyman Fine Art, London.