- 53
Edward Burra 1905-1976
Estimate
25,000 - 35,000 GBP
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Description
- Edward Burra
- garden ornament with flints
stamped with signature
- pencil, ink, watercolour and gouache
- 56 by 77.5cm., 22 by 30½in.
Provenance
The Artist's Estate
Sale, Sotheby's, London, 3rd July 2002, lot 252
Sale, Sotheby's, London, 3rd July 2002, lot 252
Catalogue Note
Executed circa 1930.
Probably dating to the early part of the 1930s, the present work is slightly unusual in that it moves completely away from the usual subject matter for the period, the bars, clubs and haunts of the demi-monde that are such a distinctive feature of Burra’s work in this period. Instead we find ourselves in a slightly neglected corner of a garden, a dry ornamental fountain basin taking up the centre space of the painting.
Probably dating to the early part of the 1930s, the present work is slightly unusual in that it moves completely away from the usual subject matter for the period, the bars, clubs and haunts of the demi-monde that are such a distinctive feature of Burra’s work in this period. Instead we find ourselves in a slightly neglected corner of a garden, a dry ornamental fountain basin taking up the centre space of the painting.
However, the absence of human figures does not make the image feel empty or lacking in interest. The abandoned feel of the fountain, with its rocaille basin above the pile of bone-like flints, immediately draws the attention of the viewer and perhaps should merit a parallel with the contemporary images of lost garden corners by Stanley Spencer.
Assuming that the dating to the early 1930s is correct, and the handling and palette are consistent with this, then it may be apposite to compare the present work with the rococo fountain found in the centre of the design for a backcloth Burra produced in 1931 for Constant Lambert’s ballet Rio Grande, based on the poem of the same name by Sacheverell Sitwell.