The Critics
1 of 21 portraits of James Evershed Agate
The Critics
by Edward Burra
ink, 1932
19 7/8 in. x 15 in. (505 mm x 381 mm) uneven
Purchased, 1996
Primary Collection
NPG 6370
Sittersback to top
- James Evershed Agate (1877-1947), Drama critic. Sitter in 21 portraits. Identify
- Ivor Brown (1891-1974), Drama critic and writer. Sitter associated with 10 portraits. Identify
- St John Greer Ervine (1883-1971), Playwright and writer. Sitter in 16 portraits. Identify
- Charles Langbridge Morgan (1894-1958), Novelist and dramatist. Sitter in 33 portraits. Identify
Artistback to top
- Edward John Burra (1905-1976), Painter. Artist or producer of 3 portraits, Sitter in 3 portraits.
This portraitback to top
The drawing is from a series of illustrations commissioned for The ABC of Theatre; it accompanied the following doggerel by Humbert Wolfe: 'E is for Ervine, Brown, Morgan and Agate looking patiently round for something to nag at.'
Linked publicationsback to top
- Saywell, David; Simon, Jacob, Complete Illustrated Catalogue, 2004, p. 730
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1932back to top
Current affairs
Sir Oswald Mosley forms the British Union of Fascists. Mosley's party - nicknamed the Black Shirts after their uniform - was founded along the lines of Mussolini's Fascist Party in Italy and called for the replacement of parliamentary democracy with a system of elected executives. During the war Mosley was interned and the BUF was proscribed.Art and science
John Cockcroft and Ernest Walton 'split the atom'. In fact, Cockcroft and Walton's achievement was to change the nucleus of one element into another by bombarding it with protons, rather than to literally spit an atom apart. Nevertheless 'splitting the atom' has become the popular way of describing this important stage in the development of nuclear technology.International
Saudi Arabia is formed by the unification of the Kingdoms of Hijaz and Nejd under King Abdul Aziz.Iraq is granted independence from the British mandate established by the League of Nations in 1919-20.
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