Art Funded by you

Blue Baby: Blitz over Britain

Edward Burra, 1941

Imperial War Museum London (IWM London), London

Edward Burra, Blue Baby: Blitz over Britain, 1941, Imperial War Museum, Art Funded 1993

The painting depicts Burra's response to the Second World War as he observed if from Rye, his birthplace.

It depicts a monstrous harpy with red eyes and claws descending from a red sky; a swirling plume of black smoke rising from the horizon indicates where the harpy has already struck. Rye was part of the chain of radar stations along the south coast which the Luftwaffe attempted to destroy during the winter of 1940-1941.

More information

Title of artwork, date

Blue Baby: Blitz over Britain, 1941

Date supported

1993

Medium and material

Watercolour & gouache on paper

Dimensions

67.5 x 100.5 cm

Grant

20000

Total cost

81000

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