EDWARD BURRA (1905-1976)

The present work and The Actress (lot 168) are the original artworks that Burra executed for ABC of the Theatre, a book produced by the artist in collaboration with the poet Humbert Wolfe. Published in 1932 by Dennis Cohen’s Cresset Press, the book contained 23 drawings by Burra, each illustration accompanied by a short verse written by Wolfe. The proof illustrations and typescript for the book, can be found in the collection of Tate, London.

The illustrations are a set of sophisticated caricatures of theatre personalities, often with enlarged heads and small bodies, with many achieving an extraordinarily effective likeness to the characters they portray.

The present work was published for the letter ‘O’ and depicts a portrait of the celebrated American playwright Eugene O’Neill (1888-1953). Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (1936) and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1920), O’Neill is known for being one of the first to introduce realism into American theatre, depicting characters on the edge of society, in his famed works such as Long Day's Journey into Night.

Wolfe’s verse that accompanied Burra’s illustration, humorously read: ‘O is O'Neill. The theatre was packed. Though a few may have died in the 49th act’.

We are very grateful to Professor Jane Stevenson for her assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.