Born in Kensigton, Burra grew up and spent much of his life near Rye in East Sussex. Continuing ill health prevented him from receiving the education his parents had planned, but they encouraged his interests in drawing and painting with instruction from a local teacher. His parents encouaged him to adopt painting as a profession and provided financial support.

He travelled regularly to Mediterranean France and Spain and later to Boston and New York. His work (which remained remarkably consistent in style over a long working life) included genre watercolours with a humorous touch, as well as more dramatic works influenced by El Greco and Goya. Notable are Mexican Church (1938) and Soldiers (1942), both in the Tate Gallery.

In his painting he used few overtly homosexual subjects, although his figures often convey the potential for sexual liaisons of various kinds. Burra vas awarded a CBE in 1971, and five years later died at Rye.