Artwork Title: Dockside Cafe, Marseilles

Dockside Cafe, Marseilles, 1929

Edward Burra

Simon Martin writes: Dockside Cafe Marseilles (1929) is a study in the coded language of sexual ambiguity, employing high camp and innuendo. Although the cinematic view of cranes and the upper deck of a boat confirm the waterfront location, the characters within are not the macho sailors or dockworkers one might expect. Instead young man with his cap at a rakish angle, bejewelled ring and seemingly plucked eyebrows stands at the bar. The two barmaids have the exaggerated appearance of men in drag, while the body language of the black youth in a pink sweater, cropped trousers and ballet shoes who stands smoking to the right of the image suggests that this is a covert place for gay men to meet. (https://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/edward-burra-hastings-to-harlem-and-back/)
Uploaded on Oct 30, 2016 by Suzan Hamer

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