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Modern British and Irish Art

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Lot 31^AR

Edward Burra
(British, 1905-1976)
The Bordello 25.3 x 21.6 cm. (10 x 8 1/2 in.)

12 June 2019, 15:00 BST

London, New Bond Street

Sold for £11,312.50 inc. premium

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Edward Burra (British, 1905-1976)

The Bordello
signed 'Burra' (lower right)
pen and ink
25.3 x 21.6 cm. (10 x 8 1/2 in.)
Executed circa 1933

Footnotes

Provenance
Sale; Christie's, London, 12 June 1981, lot 90
Sale; Christie's, London, 4 March 1983, lot 111
Possibly sale; Sotheby's, London, 7 March 1990
Sale; Christie's, London, 6 November 1998, lot 174, where acquired by the present owner
Private Collection, U.K.

Burra was well known for his seedy depictions of the dimly-lit corners and dark underbelly of early 20th urban culture. His illness from an early age proved to be physically debilitating and only exacerbated his voyeuristic tendencies, seeing and observing the world from a distance, separated from it but equally fascinated by it.

We see the stark contradiction and irony of the Catholic basilica, the Notre-Dame de la Garde, Marseilles' best known landmark, in the distance on-high almost in judgement, surveying the sordid scenes below as the ladies prepare and await their next customers. Despite their heavily caked makeup, painted-on smiles and ghoulish features, the picture's voyeur in the foreground cannot help but be intrigued by the bordello and possibly tempted by its offerings, even under the watchful eye of 'Our Lady the Guard'.

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