Footnotes

Provenance
The Artist
Lady Ritchie of Dundee, Rye
With The Lefevre Gallery, London, 22 October 2001, where acquired by the present owner
Private Collection, U.K.

Exhibited
London, The Lefevre Gallery, Edward Burra, Paintings from America, March-May 1980, cat.no.10
London, Hayward Gallery, Edward Burra, 1 August-29 September 1985, cat.no.111; this exhibition travelled to Southampton Art Gallery, 19 October-24 November 1985, Leeds City Art Gallery, 4 December 1985-12 January 1986, Norwich Castle Museum, 22 January-23 February 1986
London, The Lefevre Gallery, An Exhibition of Works by Edward Burra (1905-1976), November-December 1987, cat.no.15
London, Olympia Fine Art Fair, Edward Burra, a Loan Exhibition, 27 February-4 March 2001, cat.no.32
Chichester, Pallant House Gallery, Edward Burra, 22 October 2011-19 February 2012, cat.no.89; this exhibition travelled to Nottingham, Djanogly Gallery, 3 March-27 May 2012

Literature
William Chappell (ed.), Edward Burra: A Painter Remembered by his Friends, Andre Deutsch in association with The Lefevre Gallery, London, 1982, p.89 (ill.b&w)
Andrew Causey, Edward Burra: Complete Catalogue, Phaidon Press, Oxford, 1985, cat.no.192 (ill.b&w)
Exh.cat., Edward Burra, Hayward Gallery in association with Arts Council of Great Britain, 1985, p.44, cat.no.111, pl.22 (col.ill.)
Jane Stevenson, Edward Burra: Twentieth-Century Eye, Jonathan Cape, London, 2007, p.354
Simon Martin, Edward Burra, Lund Humphries in association with Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, 2011, p.96, cat.no.89 (col.ill.)

Edward Burra's The Riot, executed towards the end of the 1940s, does not depict a particular religious or political moment, but instead is an expression of the human condition in the wake of the Spanish Civil War and Second World War. The art historian John Rothenstein, in his description of a visit to Burra's home towards the end of the artist's life, described how his work grew darker in the wake of World War Two, as he sought to express 'his agonised awareness of the dark tide of savagery that was transforming the world as he had known it'. As such, The Riot is a more general thematic exploration of the nature of evil than the specific depictions of the two conflicts that Burra produced between 1936 and 1945. Rendered in the distinctive bold palette that is typical of Burra, the mob depicted in the present work is on the edge of violence, but the target of their anger is unknown. As a result, the actions of the crowd are presented without the artist taking a moral stance. This neutrality is typical of Burra, who in the words of John Rothenstein, shows evil 'simply as evil, without comment'.

In her book Edward Burra: Twentieth-Century Eye, Jane Stephenson places The Riot within a more autobiographical than thematic context, describing it as a scene that 'represents one of Burra's personal nightmares, since he loathed being in any kind of crowd at any time'. After contracting pneumonia as a child, Burra's health sharply declined, and he suffered from numerous medical difficulties for the rest of his life. Due to his ill health, Burra led a quiet life, particularly in his later years, which he spent in the small Sussex town of Rye. The overwhelming nature of this horde of people, which dominates the composition and stretches beyond the edges of the sheet, is at odds with the sequestered life that Burra led. The sheer number of individuals depicted in the work, each with their own distinctive expression, showcases Burra's mastery of watercolour as a medium.

When he painted, Burra rarely titled works, and had to be pressed to name his pieces when they were taken for exhibitions. The artist's reluctance to title the works stemmed from an unwillingness to be forced into over explaining the meaning of his pictures. Burra's process of painting contained what Rothenstein describes as an 'unconscious' element, which is encapsulated by the dreamlike nature of The Riot. It is this unconscious element to the pieces that often leads Burra to be labelled as a Surrealist. Although Burra was never part of a specific artistic group, and was reluctant to be defined as a Surrealist, he was fascinated by the movement. The arched windows of the buildings which form the background of the present lot are reminiscent of Giorgio de Chirico, and show the influence that the artist had on Burra. As a result, The Riot provides a unique snapshot of Burra's thematic concerns, personal history, and stylistic influences, in one masterfully executed piece.

We are grateful to Professor Jane Stevenson for her assistance in cataloguing this lot.