Edward Burra, a chronically ill English painter who battled debilitating arthritis and asthma throughout his life, spent his career in headlong flight from his upper-class southern English upbringing. Despite his regularized, side-parted, tamped-down hair and privileged background, Burra sought to experience the shock of strangeness and embrace the allure of the forbidden and disapproved. His restless spirit often led him to leave home for months at a time without saying goodbye, leaving family and friends wondering where Edward had gone and whether he would ever return.

Burra's travels took him first to Paris, then to Spain, the United States, and Mexico, as he searched for experiences that would fuel his artistic vision. A carefully curated, chronologically organized exhibition at Tate Britain showcases the best of his lifetime's work, allowing visitors to hear the drift of music in the air – the visceral excitement of jazz that Edward loved and that fed into his work during the Harlem years. Black vinyl records displayed along the gallery walls represent Edward's personal collection, creating an immersive atmosphere of the riddling, foot-stomping 1920s wildness that inspired his art.

Burra's paintings, like the artist himself, motor away at speed from convention and respectability. Most of his works are crowded with figures that seem to emanate the sweet smell of sweat and the heady excitement of twists, turns, and crazy swerves. The artist's distinctive style features figures whose limbs bend pneumatically, as if they might be nothing but inflatables, with fingers stretched and rubberized and features squeezed into inhuman, mask-like shapes. Their faces are so heavily caked with makeup that it becomes difficult to distinguish where the fantasy of posing and posturing begins or ends.

These beings, brought to life through Burra's English brush, thrive in sexy, late-night environments where booze often topples from serving trays. The artist captures erotic provocation on speed – surrealism lightly peppered with satire – as he records and relishes the particularity of his people and scenes. Notable examples include the weird grimaces displayed in "The Two Sisters" (1929) and the parodic mistrust evident in "Balcony Toulon" (1929), both demonstrating Burra's ability to twist reality into provocative artistic statements.

During his time in New York, Burra fell instantly for the appeal of Harlem's nightlife, creating works like "Savoy Ballroom, Harlem" (1934) that capture gorgeous clinches and the vibrant energy of the scene. His fascination with this world produced detailed paintings like "Harlem" (1934) and later "Simply Heavenly Scene in Harlem" (1957), showcasing his long-standing connection to the neighborhood's cultural richness. The exhibition also features works such as "Dancing Skeletons" (1934) and "Minuit Chanson" (1931), demonstrating the breadth of his artistic exploration during this period.

Once Burra arrived in Spain amid the death, turmoil, and confusion of the Spanish Civil War, his artistic mood and palette darkened significantly. War began to loom over his paintings as the human figure inclined toward the anonymous and mechanized. Visitors to the exhibition can observe this shift in works like "The Watcher" (1937), where viewers stare into open graves to admire skeletons, reflecting the artist's response to the violence and devastation surrounding him.

Toward the end of his career, Burra returned to England and attempted to work up responses to the puff-smoke of industry and the grit of working-class street life. However, these later paintings, including "Valley and River, Northumberland" (1972), don't quite convince with the same energy as his earlier works. Rude boys kick out in unison like stiff performers on a stage, but the old energy had left him, and Burra could no longer dig deep enough to capture the raw vitality that had defined his most compelling period.

The Edward Burra exhibition continues at Tate Britain on Millbank in London through October 19, offering art enthusiasts a comprehensive look at this unique artist's journey from privileged English society to the underground scenes that inspired his most memorable works. The exhibition was curated by Thomas Kennedy with Eliza Spindel, presenting a chronological journey through Burra's artistic evolution and his satirical take on surrealism that challenged conventional artistic norms of his era.